Flu fighters to increase vaccine uptake

NHS staff are encouraged to have the flu vaccine to protect patients from the potentially lifethreatening virus. The Department of Health wants three quarters of front-line staff to get the jab but uptake is as low as 29per cent in some parts. Some NHS Trusts have appointed “flu fighters” to champion the jab, who rove around hospitals and provide injections on wards where staff are too busy to leave. At one hospital in Derbyshire, this led to vaccination rates of 88per cent compared to England’s average of 64per cent.