"Excess deaths refer to the amount of patients that died unexpectedly, calculated by comparing the mortality rate from winter months to the rest of the year. Durham County Councils flu facts briefing for November 2019.

Official advice is that everyone in at-risk groups should have the jab to protect themselves.Children unable to get free nasal spray vaccine after delay in manufacturePatients outside of London say they have been unable to get jab due to low suppyGloria Copeland’s advice to ‘inoculate yourself with the word of God’ met with scorn amid worst flu epidemic in a decadeDeath toll from virus hits 155, with 35 people dying last week alone
That is more than the 2,045 who needed such care in the same period last year, when the virus was much more prevalent. Virus has killed 200 and left many more in intensive care units over winter periodSenior doctors said as many people were at risk of dying as during the pandemics of 2009-10 and 2010-11, despite the small numbers contracting the virus.One leading expert said the strain of flu this winter was so virulent that it had left people who were previously fit and healthy critically ill, some of whom hospitals have been unable to save. Public Health England does not publish a mortality rate for the flu. Primary schools forced to cancel flu vaccine sessions in EnglandNHS denies flu vaccine shortage amid complaints over delaysEvangelical Trump adviser tells people to skip flu shots in favor of prayerThree times more people dying from flu in UK than last winterFlu outbreak: UK deaths triple with GPs seeing major rise in patientsThe UK media’s ‘Aussie flu’ fears have gone viral – but can a global source be identified?NHS's real problem is underfunding not Australian flu, says virologist Our impression is that patients who have ended up in ICU have generally not been vaccinated so even if the vaccine hasn’t been completely protective, it has reduced the risk of life-threatening infection.”Dr Nick Scriven, the president of the Society for Acute Medicine, whose members help care for flu patients in hospital, said the unusual combination of low levels of the infection but high numbers of people left severely unwell could mean that it was proving deadlier this year.He said: “From the relatively lower rates of GP consultation and so far hospital admission compared to the higher levels of ICU/HDU need and nearly 200 flu-related deaths, it could point to this year’s strain being particularly virulent and causing more extreme reactions in infected patients.“I would urge anyone who requires vaccination but has not had it yet to get vaccinated as circulating levels are still significant and the illness caused very severe.”Dr Chris Harvey, director of the trust’s paediatric and adult ECMO programme, said it had treated 42 patients in intensive care or high dependency and another 25 with ECMO, this winter.He said: “Since the start of December we have treated a total of 25 critically ill patients with ECMO support with confirmed influenza A in Leicester. "There were around 50,100 excess winter deaths in England and Wales in 2017-18 - the highest since the winter of 1975-76, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. ""More than 50,000 excess deaths were recorded across England and Wales last winter, official figures show. Age UK uses cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience.

"So the government are now apparent not only blaming fluctuations in winter mortality on flu but all excess winter mortality on flu, to the the tune of more than 50,000 deaths.
"The shocking figures have been partially blamed on the deadly strains of flu that swept the nations over the colder months of December to March. The predominant strain of flu in 2014/15 was A(H3N2). [1] 'Excess winter deaths highest since 1970s, says ONS' BBC Health 30 November 2018, [2] Vanessa Chalmers, 'Winter death toll highest since 1975: Failure of flu jab to combat severe outbreak resulted in more than 50,000 extra people dying in England and Wales last year', Daily Mail 30 November 2018,[3] John Stone, 'Discrepancies in published data', BMJ 2010; 340 doi: [4] 'Surveillance of influenza and other respiratory viruses in the UK: Winter 2017 to 2018' , Public Health England May 2018, p 21, [5] Commons Select Committee: "Committee shocked by low uptake of flu vaccine",