Winter health: ‘Triple-demic’ fears as flu jab uptake drops

National World - LocalTV

Amid concerns of a triple-demic this winter, medical experts are encouraging as many as possible to get a flu jab as the time of year where viruses spread more readily approaches.

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00:00We could be in for a worse winter than last year, according to healthcare professionals

00:06who've raised concerns about flu vaccine uptake. Last year, uptake fell with thousands of flu-related

00:11deaths, despite relatively mild flu seasons, according to UK Health Security Agency data.

00:16Experts looked to what's happening in Australia to predict our winters here,

00:20as they've just come out of their colder months. Cases of flu in the southern hemisphere were

00:24relatively high. They also saw a big wave of COVID at the same time. Medical experts

00:29are now concerned about a potential triple-demic of flu, COVID and RSV happening all at once in

00:35the UK. So how can we escape getting ill and relieve the strain on the NHS? Doctors are

00:40encouraging as many as possible to get vaccinated against the flu virus, especially those who fall

00:45into the at-risk group. These include those with long-term health conditions, those who are

00:49pregnant, people aged 65 or older and people who live in a care home. There's also a COVID

00:55autumn booster available for some groups too. But what about you? Are you planning on getting

00:59vaccinated against flu this year? If not, what's holding you back?

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