Thousands of elderly forced to wait as NHS rations f lu ‘wonder jab’
VULNERABLE elderly people may not be protected from flu until Christmas because of the ‘cackhanded’ organisation of a national vaccination campaign.
Pharmacists warned last night that lives will be lost as a result if flu hits Britain earlier than usual.
Shortages of Fluad, a new supervaccine offering better protection for over- 65s, means pensioners across the country are being turned away by GPs. Deliveries of the vaccine to surgeries and pharmacies are being staggered due to supply problems and 40 per cent of the 7.8 million doses will not be available until next month.
GPs and pharmacists are being asked to prioritise the over-75s and those people over the age 65 with existing health problems.
Sid Dajani, a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English Pharmacy Board, said the delays meant some people might not be protected until Christmas.
‘The bottom line is it takes three weeks to develop full immunity after a flu jab and everybody over 65 is at high risk of the virus,’ he said. ‘We are putting them at risk by turning them away.
‘Vaccination is about stopping flu spreading but the fewer people we vaccinate early in the season, the more likely it is flu will spread.’
Speaking in a personal capacity, he accused officials of giving doctors and pharmacists too little notice of the introduction of Fluad, adding: ‘This cack-handedness is putting lives at risk. It is putting the most vulnerable in harm’s way.’
The Government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended Fluad last December, but it took NHS England until February 5 to tell GPs and pharmacies they needed to buy it. Clinics that failed to order by the April 12 deadline have had no stock delivered, forcing them to beg for supplies from others.
Hitesh Patel, chief executive of City & Hackney Local Pharmacy Committee in London, said many pharmacies had been slow to order Fluad because they initially had ‘no idea’ about how many jabs to buy. ‘I knew back in March that this was a car crash waiting to happen,’ he added.
Flu is thought to have killed more than 15,000 people across Britain last winter. The decision to switch over-65s to Fluad came amid concerns that the old jab was not effective enough at stimulating their weakened immune systems.
David Cox, 79, from Gillingham, Kent, is among those unable to get the vaccine. ‘I recently booked to have it, but then had a phone call from the surgery to tell me that they had run out of the jab for over65s,’ he said. ‘They said I should try the chemist, which I did, but they also said they had run out.’
Another pensioner, who wanted to remain anonymous, was booked in to have the jab at Boots in Poole, Dorset, last week.
He said: ‘ Come the day, I was phoned at 9am and told they were out of stock – and the next delivery would be on November 19.’
A spokeswoman for NHS England said: ‘GPs and pharmacists were given more than two months to order the vaccine, there is more than enough to meet expected demand, and older people will be better protected this year than ever before as they will be offered the most effective jab available anywhere in the world. We expect pharmacists and GPs to get everyone vaccinated before the end of the year when flu usually hits.’
‘The most vulnerable are being put in harm’s way’