Fed up of hearing about the flu

[SpoonBaloon]

I know I’m being unreasonable but am I the only one who’s getting wound up by the constant coverage of the flu on every national news outlet?

It is December. Of course the flu is going around! Every winter we hear about the NHS being overwhelmed.

I can accept minor coverage but it’s been the main story for days on end and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop! And I know the flu kills and people need to be aware to take precautions but surely people don’t need it to be pointed out to them that they have an increased chance of catching the cold or flu in the run up to Christmas?

I was deathly ill with it last year but luckily have managed to avoid it up to now.

ive always wanted curly hair

I have just booked jabs for my husband and two adult daughters for next week. I messaged my cousin who is a professor in infectious diseases in a teaching hospital. My daughters are mid 20s, similar age to his kids. He told me that there was not a compelling argument to get these 20-somethings vaccinated and not to bother. He said the flu jab was not very effective this year. I am now unsure as to what the right thing to do is.

My friend is an a&e nurse. They've been at breaking point for weeks as flu season started early and it still hasn't peaked. Your comment is more than incorrect, it's naive.

They are at "breaking point" every year. They are just pushing it more this year to get the uptake of the vaccine back up. A lot of people became sceptical (I am not antivax). But this does happen every year. I feel very sorry for the people on the front line in the NHS because it is a mess, but this situation is not new.

The NHS should have capacity by design. It’s always at breaking point. Hopefully the doctors will accept the new offer and call off the strike.

Possibly both, I got Covid, DD got flu, friend got flu. All at the same time. Been a month and still coughing.

Australia's just had the worst flu season in history. Levels fluctuate quite significantly based on the strain and the southern hemisphere winter is a good indicator for what we're likely to experience (mutations aside).

Notifiable cases of influenza were 11% higher in 2025 than in 2024. It started and escalated earlier in the winter than usual - similar to the pattern we're seeing here. However, that strain has since acquired seven new mutations to create subclade K of H3N2 - which seem to help it spread faster, and is not as well matched to this year's vaccine.

Sorry to bring facts to the table - I know it's inconvenient. But not all flu seasons are created equal and criticising the health service for recognising and acting on that is illogical.

Looking back I think it was the winter of 2000 2001 The Australian flu mutated, Christmas and New year was wiped out for many. Our village hall was having a big bash lots of families bought tickets. They had to cancel the event in the end organisers etc were flat out in bed. We dodged it because I was in early pregnancy and very poorly so had a quiet Christmas and New year. No parties Etc.

I must look it up.

I remember on Millennium Eve we were all flu-ridden in our house.

I'm not criticising health care professionals, I am criticising the organisation of the NHS and the media. They are telling people to get the vacancies but people are struggling to get them. The media report that the NHS is at breaking point every single year.

That's quite a different argument from saying that levels haven't changed that much and that publicity of abnormally high levels of influenza is "scaremongering".

Yes me too - it’s the same every year tho !

The reason they need to cover it is so that as many people as possible are aware of the risk and change their behaviours! You are disagreeing with public health messaging which will save lives.
Your post is ridiculous.

I'm not sure it is. Yes there are well reported "crises" every year, but we haven't had a bad flu year for a while.

This strain of flu really is something else. My SIL and niece are still struggling 6 weeks after contracting it. My father passed away within 3 days of contracting it.

You may think it's just the same as every year, but from what I've seen, it's really not. It's dangerous for those who are vulnerable and debilitating for those who are healthy.

I work for the NHS (non clinical) and there is a winter crisis every year. Wouldn't trust a word Wes Streeting says, think he is using scare tactics in the hope it will make Drs call off their strike next week. Flu is awful and do think vulnerable people should get the jab.

We have a young adult family member on life support with flu, pneumonia and sepsis. It's not scaremongering it's very real.

No apparently no cases reported in 2020

Data collection started in 2021.

How/where did you get vaccine appointments? They’re nowhere to be found round where I live.

Are you saying, hand on heart, that you are not seeing an unfolding disaster in your area? Because every medic I know is saying things are shaping up to be the worst winter on record - are you saying they are wrong? That our local hospital is cancelling non urgent surgery for fun? That people are pretending to be ill on life support?

If you are not clinical staff do you even know what is happening on the ground?

Bully for you then..let's hope you don't get it this year because you've seen all the warnings ffs ..let's hope you're not immune compromised and have nothing to worry about..get back to your knitting and your easy life and put your blinkers back on please

What are you on about?

But there are tons of viruses with no vaccines - flue, covid, rsv are only a few of many @TempestTost

How very odd. I've been vaccinated against all of these this year.

Perhaps that poster (and I haven't read the rest of their post so I'm guessing) meant that the ones with vaccines are only a few out of many more without.