Covid in Scotland: More groups eligible for winter flu jabs - BBC News
All over-50s, teachers, school staff and pupils and those working on Covid testing will be offered the jab.
Four million people in Scotland will be offered the flu jab this year

Four million people are to be offered flu jabs this year in Scotland's largest-ever winter vaccination programme.

The free vaccine has been extended to protect as many lives as possible and avoid additional pressure on the NHS.

It is believed immunity may be diminished due to lower levels of the flu virus circulating last year as a result of lockdowns.

The flu vaccination programme will begin in September.

Scotland's deadliest flu epidemic in recent times was in 1989 when 2,400 people died in the seven days to Christmas Eve.

Research from Public Health England, carried out in the first pandemic wave before any Covid vaccine had been made or given, suggested risk of death was more than double for people who caught flu on top of coronavirus, compared with coronavirus alone.

In March this year, public health expert Dr Susan Hopkins warned that the NHS had to be "ready" for surges in flu and other similar illnesses.

She said the UK must prepare for a "hard winter" because the population immunity to respiratory viruses other than Covid could be lower than usual.

It is believed immunity could be low due to last year's lockdowns

Previously, the jab was limited to over-65s, those with certain health conditions, pregnant women, healthcare workers and carers.

But for the 2021-2022 flu season, the following will be invited to receive the free vaccine:

Health conditions considered to put people in an "at risk" groups include asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, heart and lung diseases, or autoimmune disorders.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said flu could be"extremely serious and infectious". With Covid-19 still circulating in the community, he encouraged people in Scotland to get vaccinated against flu too.

"This will help to protect those most at risk as well as ease pressure on our National Health Service and social care services," he said. "The vaccines are safe and the best way to help protect you, and others, from flu this winter."

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Nicola Steedman said: "The public health measures put in place to help fight against Covid-19 meant that the circulation of flu viruses was very low last season.

"As restrictions continue to lift and we get back to living our lives more normally it is important this year, more than ever, that you receive your flu vaccine if you are eligible, and before flu starts to spread widely. It only takes a few minutes to be vaccinated, and it helps to provide protection from flu for the period of time that flu is likely to be circulating in Scotland."

Ms Steedman also said the Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation (JCVI) had published interim advice on providing a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to those eligible in the autumn.

She added: "Any such extension to the vaccine programme would run alongside the vital flu programme, to protect those at risk from flu this winter. We will take this into account while we await the final JCVI recommendations. But we urge people not to forget about flu, and to come forward for their flu vaccination this year."