MERSEYSIDE’S most vulnerable are being urged to protect themselves against swine flu this winter.
Experts from the Health Protection Agency, which advises the NHS, are expecting the H1N1 virus to be circulating along with other seasonal flu strains over the coming months.
Officials are monitoring the situation and testing what strains of flu are out there and at what levels. But, in the meantime, they want people to take up the Department of Health’s vaccine offer.
This year’s flu jab will contain a swine flu element which will protect patients from the virus.
And, for the first time, pregnant women are included in the group of patients routinely offered the jab.
They join the over- 65s, people who live in nursing and residential homes, carers, and those with underlying health conditions, such as heart problems, diabetes and asthma, in being prioritised for the vaccine.
