Overview
- UKHSA reports an unusually early season with flu test positivity rising to 10.9% and hospital admissions at 3.8 per 100,000, levels typically not seen until December.
- Surveillance indicates seven new mutations in the dominant H3N2 lineage, with experts estimating the reproduction number has increased to about 1.4.
- NHS England has opened 2.4 million vaccination appointments in a “flu jab SOS,” urging rapid uptake before winter pressure intensifies.
- Children aged five to 14 are driving the early wave, raising concern that infections could spread into older and vulnerable groups.
- Uptake remains low in key risk groups at about 28.9% for people with long-term conditions, as experts warn this could be the UK’s worst flu season in a decade despite vaccines still reducing severe disease.