November 2, 2022

Seasonal flu this winter in the UK – what can we expect?

With restrictions imposed during the Covid pandemic, we haven’t had a ‘proper’ flu season for a number of years.  We’ve heard some questions about whether we face a ‘twindemic’ this year as seasonal flu returns and Covid is still around.

But what does the science say – and what do flu experts think about what might or might not happen in the UK flu-wise this winter?

This was a background briefing – so no new data or results will be presented. Journalists came to this briefing to ask their questions about the science of seasonal flu, and hear experts discuss issues such as:

– what happened in the southern hemisphere with their flu season just gone?

– what can we and can’t we predict or guess might happen here given what has happened in the southern hemisphere?

– which strains of flu are circulating this year?

– how well matched is this year’s flu vaccine?

Speakers included:

Dr John McCauley, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Influenza, Francis Crick Institute

Prof Sir Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Global Health, and Director of the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford

Dr Raja Rajaram, Head of Global Medical Strategy, Seqirus