Winter flu jabs in England face disruption from vaccine shortage

England’s largest supplier of the flu jab is experiencing delivery delays

This winter, the flu vaccine is being offered for free to over 35 million people (Getty Images)

Ministers have been told to “get a grip” following the news that flu vaccine deliveries to GPs are expected to be delayed.

Appointments for a number of patients will have to be rescheduled, as a result of this, after Seqirus, the largest provider of flu vaccines to the UK, said there would be delays of up to two weeks in England and Wales.

Seqirus said that the delivery disruption was due to “unforeseen challenges linked with road freight delays”.

An exodus of HGV drivers, who left the UK to return to their EU countries during the pandemic and have since remained there, has caused disruption across multiple sectors of the economy in the past weeks and it is thought the vaccine delivery delay could be due to this.

Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth called on ministers to find a solution to the problem “urgently”.

He said: “GPs are at their wits’ end, first forced to cancel blood tests because of bottle shortages and now we learn flu vaccines will be delayed.

“This has been a summer of crisis for the NHS with patients paying the price. With winter coming and flu resurgence a huge risk, ministers must urgently get a grip.”

Meanwhile, according to GP Online, Seqirus had sent a letter suggesting that practices should not rebook appointments until they receive confirmation when vaccine supplies may eventually be delivered.

A spokeswoman for the company said: “Seqirus supplies influenza vaccines to all GP practices in England and Wales.

“Due to unforeseen challenges linked with road freight delays, we have informed all our customers of a consequent delay to their scheduled vaccine delivery by a maximum of one to two weeks.

“Seqirus is working hard to resolve the delay to allow customers to reschedule their influenza vaccination clinics.”

Elsewhere, the British Medical Association GP committee chairman, Dr Richard Vautrey, said that a “significant proportion” of practices are likely to be affected by the delays.

He explained that this could have a “serious impact” on both practice workloads and on patients.

He said: “Many practices will have spent the last few days and weeks meticulously planning for their flu vaccination programme, inviting and booking patients in for their jabs, only now to have to contact them all again to cancel or reschedule appointments.

“This causes a huge increase in staff’s already unsustainable workloads, and inconvenience and unneeded anxiety for patients who will be keen to be protected ahead of winter.”

Adding: “This is on top of the chaos already being caused by the shortage of blood test bottles, which is leaving hardworking doctors and practice teams bearing the brunt of understandable frustrations from patients when the problem is well outside of their control.

“That this appears to be stemming from similar issues around freight capacity and transportation is incredibly concerning, and we must ask the government exactly what it is doing to urgently address this.”

This year’s seasonal flu programme in England is due to start this month and is set to be the largest in the country’s history, as the country prepares to deal with the pandemic alongside a normal flu season.

Health secretary Sajid Javid has previously urged everyone eligible to get the flu jab, with it being offered for free to more than 35 million people. This includes all secondary school students this winter, according to the government.

The Department of Health and Social Care have been contacted by The Independent for comment.