Delays in GPs getting flu vaccine may have hit 1.3m OAPs

AROUND 1.3million fewer pensioners are feared to have had flu jabs this winter amid claims GPs are struggling to get hold of the vaccination.

The warning from Public Health England came as GP magazine Pulse said nearly 69% told of delays in delivery of the new version, which is specifically designed for older people.

A survey of 650 practices revealed only 20% had no trouble securing the vaccine – with one GP reporting they were forced to cancel 170 appointments. NHS England, which has denied a supply crisis, dismissed the survey as being unrepresentative and claimed the problem would be remedied by Monday, with deliveries arriving yesterday.

A spokesman said: “This survey of little more than 1% of GPs ignores the fact that this week, 100% of vaccines will have been delivered by the manufacturer to those surgeries and pharmacists who placed an order on time.”

But the British Medical Association, which had warned a “phased approach” to delivering the jab may mean short delays, said getting hold of it had been a “nightmare for GPs”.

The BMA’s GP committee chair, Richard Vautrey, said: “Previously, many patients will have been used to receiving their vaccination on demand from their GP or pharmacist but because of the phased delivery this has not been possible this year.”

The new formula inoculates against three strains after evidence suggested the version used last year barely worked with the elderly.