Data shows winter flu jab only worked in a quarter of cases

 The flu jab worked in just a quarter of cases this winter, new figures reveal.

Health officials said they were “hostage to fortune” because decisions on the make-up of vaccinations are taken long before winter starts, making it hard to get the best match.

Next winter, a new boosted jab will be offered to all elderly people, following concern about low effectiveness of vaccines offered to the elderly. Health officials told a meeting of the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee that the jab could not have been offered earlier, because it was only licensed last summer, months after the World Health Organisation (WHO) makes its recommendations over which strain vaccine manufacturers should use.

Data shows that across the population, effectiveness levels were just 25 per cent. The best results were in children, where it was effective in 53 per cent of cases.