Overview
- England’s chief medical officer used his 2025 annual report to say infection prevention and care for older adults is still hit and miss and needs targeted research.
- Public health data cited in the report show most infectious‑disease deaths occur in older adults, largely from respiratory infections or Covid.
- Officials pressed eligible people to get flu, Covid and the new RSV vaccinations now so protection is in place by Christmas.
- NHS England said flu patients could occupy 5,000 to 8,000 hospital beds per day by next week, signalling intense near‑term pressure on services.
- Whitty advised a lower threshold for prescribing antibiotics in older patients because of sepsis risk, while maintaining caution to limit antimicrobial resistance, and urged practical steps such as hand‑washing, safe food preparation and delaying visits from recently ill contacts.