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Trivalent flu vaccine won’t protect against influenza B strain predominantly circulating

BMJ 2018; 360 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k78 (Published 05 January 2018) Cite this as: BMJ 2018;360:k78
  1. Jacqui Wise
  1. London

Public Health England has warned that the trivalent flu vaccine most commonly administered in general practice will not protect against the strain of influenza B that appears to be predominately circulating this year. The latest figures show influenza is circulating at higher than seasonally expected levels, with increases in GP consultations and emergency department attendance.1

In the last week of 2017 there were 24 influenza deaths reported across the UK with 48 confirmed in the past three months, according to the latest monitoring figures. The overall GP consultation rate for influenza-like illness increased to 21 per 100 000 population, up from 18.9 in the week to 24 December. This is above the normal of 13.1 per 100 000 for this season. There were also increases in out-of-hours calls for influenza-like illness with …

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