Overview
- UKHSA reports flu test positivity at 17.1% and hospital admissions rising from 4.78 to 7.79 per 100,000 for Nov 24–30, with no peak identified.
- NHS England says an average of 1,717 beds were occupied by flu patients each day last week, 56% higher than a year ago, including 69 in critical care.
- Regional pressures are mounting, with London’s daily flu inpatients tripling year on year to 259 and the North West recording about 295 patients last week.
- A drifted influenza A(H3N2) subclade (K) is dominating cases, raising concerns about greater transmissibility and partial immune escape compared with last year.
- Vaccination campaigns stress the two‑week protection window — urging eligible people to get jabs by December 11 — as UKHSA advises masks when unwell and some trusts reinstate face coverings, with a planned Dec 17–22 resident‑doctor strike likely to add pressure.