2 Articles:
Second wave of flu puts the elderly at risk
By Stephen Adams, Medical Correspondent
08 Jan 2011
A second flu wave could emerge in the coming weeks, this time hitting elderly people, figures suggest.
While data released by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) disclose that flu cases appear to have peaked among the young, they also show that infection rates among older age groups are continuing to rise.
Last night a flu expert warned elderly people who had not had the seasonal flu jab to contact their doctors, amid signs that two strains of the virus which have been relatively quiet so far this winter could be about to take a stronger hold.
GPs' surgeries are already running out of vaccine and manufacturers have warned they have no more stock.
Last night Scotland's leading microbiologist, Hugh Pennington, described the swine flu vaccination system in England as "a shambles".
"I blame both the GPs and the Government," he said. "The GPs could have got their ordering better – everybody knew this was coming. The advertising campaign left a lot to be desired. In Scotland we have been better prepared but we could have done more."
Prof John Oxford, a flu expert at Queen Mary, University of London, said the swine flu strain (H1N1) which has hit young people the hardest could be on the wane, allowing for this winter's two other major strains, H3N2 and B, to take hold.
Both are potentially more dangerous to older people who have greater resistance to swine flu than the young due to exposure to similar viruses earlier in their lives. So far 50 people are known to have died from flu this season. Only four have been aged 65 or over.
Of the deaths, 45 were due to swine flu and the other five, type B. The HPA could not say whether the four deaths in over-65s were due to type B flu.
Weekly flu statistics from the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), released on Thursday, show that while infection rates in younger age groups appear to be falling fast, they are rising among those aged 45 and over. Rates of the illness among children aged five to 14 fell from 145 cases per 100,000 to 58 cases, in the week to Jan 2. In those aged 65 or over cases rose from 36 to 47.
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[click title for full article]
New flu jabs will not protect the elderly
Millions of flu jabs being rushed out to plug vaccine shortfalls will not protect the elderly against a strain of the virus now putting them at increased risk, experts have warned.
By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent
08 Jan 2011
A national stockpile of more than 12 million swine flu jabs left over from the 2009 pandemic will be released on Monday, in a bid to combat local shortages of flu vaccines.
But influenza experts claim that the stocks, which protect only against swine flu, will do almost nothing to protect elderly people, who are at far greater risk from another strain of flu – type B – which is now rising sharply.
On Saturday health officials issued a warning that type B flu had reached "substantial" proportions in London, while lab reports show that it has become more common than swine flu across central and southern England.
Latest figures show that although swine flu currently remains dominant nationally, the increase in type B cases has been almost double that of swine flu in recent weeks, while overall influenza levels among the over-65s are rising sharply.
This year's seasonal flu jab, which protects against both strains of flu, plus a third, called H3N2, has been offered to elderly people, pregnant women and people with health conditions throughout the autumn and winter.
While swine flu has aggressively targeted the under-65s, elderly people have stronger immunity to it, and are at greater risk from the other strains.
Following weeks of soaring flu levels, many GPs are now running out of this year's vaccine.
On Thursday the Government ordered that 12.7 million doses of swine flu vaccine left over from last year's pandemic be released to meet demand.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/flu/8248217/New-flu-jabs-will-not-protect-the-elderly.html
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