A government adviser says the UK needs to be prepared for a ‘big flu epidemic’ this winter

The UK should be prepared for a “major flu pandemic” this winter, but can “tackle” the problem of seasonal flu shots, a government science adviser has said.

Professor Neil Ferguson, who said last week that the country was at the start of the third wave of cov- ers, suggested that by the end of 2021 seasonal flu would be “a significant problem”.

His comments echo the views of the UK’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Witty, who warned last week of the possibility of a regular flu outbreak or a return to the “most significant cowpea rise” in the winter.

Speaking earlier this week, Boris Johnson also suggested that there could be a ‘severe winter’ that puts pressure on the NHS for ‘all sorts of reasons’, including flu cases.

Professor Ferguson stressed the potential for regular flu to be a more serious problem in 2020 due to Professor Witty’s comments: “I think seasonal flu may be a significant problem in the future. Fall and Winter Measures taken against coyote around the world brought the flu to a very low level. “

“We can counteract it with the seasonal flu scenery that develops in the fall, but I think by the end of this year, at the beginning of the year, we should be ready for the biggest flu outbreak.” Next. “”

However, Professor Ferguson, a member of the government’s SPI-M modeling committee, took a more optimistic tone about the current Govt situation, saying the big picture was “encouraging”.

“The number of cases across the country is expected to increase, but they have dropped slightly compared to a few weeks ago.

“We have seen an increase in hospitalizations and even deaths, but again, they are at a much lower level than before, which demonstrates the effectiveness of vaccines in protecting the population, especially against serious diseases.”

But he declined to say whether the government should lift the remaining Govt restrictions on July 5 – the date set by the prime minister to reconsider the situation – or July 19. Johnson said he hopes to make all operations in the UK easier.

“I don’t think I have a personal opinion on what is best,” Professor Ferguson said BBC Radio 4 Today Program.

“I am busy analyzing active data. One of the aims of the delay was to allow scientists like me to analyze the data and provide a more concrete picture for the government to make this decision. This data is encouraging, but I would like to guess the most relevant data. “

Despite government ministers downplaying the possibility of deregulation in the UK on July 5, the Prime Minister and his ministers insisted that July 19 be “beautiful” – Mr. Johnson called it the “end point.”

According to Time, Ministers were encouraged by the low number of deaths from Govt-19, and hope to remove the remaining restrictions, including social distance and face covering, next month.