As the new year gets underway flu continues to be a leading cause of hospital admissions due to respiratory illness this winter, as the start of January saw more than 1,300 people hospitalised with flu across England with the figure increasing by more than a third over the holiday period, according to figures released by the NHS. Eighty one flu patients were also reported as receiving critical care that week, representing an increase of almost 70% compared with the previous week in December.

The latest update for this month also shows 1,416 patients in hospital with flu in the week ending January 14 while demand for beds remains high, with around 19 in every 20 adult beds occupied.

Meanwhile, a leading virologist has stated that he and his colleagues in the East of England have witnessed many more cases of influenza than Covid so far this winter. Dr Chris Smith from the University of Cambridge, said his team had tested people across the region to find out what had caused them to fall ill: "The most prominent diagnoses is influenza,” he said. “Flu is the major player although Covid is still out there. We are also dealing with something of an immunity debt,” Dr Smith explained.

“Because we haven’t been exposed to as many of these infections as we normally would have in the past few years due to successive lockdowns, they able to spread more efficiently throughout the population.. It is also possible to catch two, or even three, respiratory infections at the same time, which makes people feel absolutely dreadful” he added.

Prof Julian Redhead, NHS England’s national clinic director for urgent care, said the health service was starting 2024 in a difficult position: “As we struggle to recover services and cope with heavy demand, as ever I would urge the public to get their flu and Covid vaccines if they are eligible.’

Find out more about booking flu vaccinations for your workforce this winter with our Citi Health on-site flu clinics.