Co-Administration of COVID-19 and Flu booster Vaccines at NHS clinics
UKHSA has warned of lower levels of natural immunity to flu this year and an increased coronavirus (COVID-19) circulation.
Even so they still urging everyone who is eligible for the free flu and COVID-19 booster vaccines to take up the offer.
International surveillance shows that H3N2 – a subtype of influenza type A – is currently the most-commonly detected flu virus worldwide.
This H3N2 strain circulated in the UK last winter but was held largely in check by COVID-19 restrictions.
Most young children will not have encountered flu yet. This means they will not have built up any natural immunity to this virus, so it is particularly important for them to take up the flu vaccine this year.
Study results from early in the pandemic show catching both flu and COVID-19 at the same time, known as co-infection, are around twice as likely to suffer death compared to just having COVID-19.