Andrew Murrison: Flu may 'come back and bite us' during winter
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MP Andrew Murrison has warned that flu will “come back to bite us this winter” as it was “nowhere” during the winter of 2020. It came as some are concerned about the speed of the Covid vaccine booster rollout has not been fast enough.
Speaking on BBC Newsnight, MP Andrew Murrison said: “Well, the vaccine programme in this country has been a huge success. Hasn’t it?
“I think that’s recognised.
“We were early into this, it follows a course that we need to be very quick off the blocks in terms of the booster because some of the efficacy may now be running a little bit thin,
“So it is absolutely vital to programme that now it takes off.”
Emily Maitlis asked: “We need to get everyone boosted, but what’s going on there now?
The MP said: “Well the vaccines are there, the people are there to do the vaccination.
“But they just need to get the arms in which to put the vaccine.
“And I think this is a real danger as recently as six years ago we lost 28,000 people in bad winter to seasonal flu.
“And we must make sure that people are vaccinated against flu.”
The host asked: “Are you more worried about flu now than COVID?”
The MP said in reply: “Well I think it’s difficult to say but I think past history suggests that flu is a clear and present danger, and particularly in the context of last winter, where flu was simply nowhere.
“It’s more than likely it’s going to come back and bite us this time.”
A total of 30 million people across the UK will eventually qualify for a third booster vaccine.
Booster doses can only be offered to people who are at least six months on from receiving their second dose of coronavirus vaccine.
Globally, an estimated 290,000 to 650,000 people typically die each year from seasonal flu.
However, 2020 winter saw some of the lowest recorded flu death rates due to coronavirus restrictions.
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