More people have been admitted to hospital with influenza than Covid for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to the latest figures by the UK Health Security Agency. The rate of flu hospitalizations hit 6.8 per 100,000 people in the week leading up to December 11, while admissions for Covid patients hit 6.6 per 100,000.

Flu hospitalizations rose 40 percent in that period, up from 3.9 per 100,000 people as of the week ending December 4. If these admissions continue to rise, they could be on track to surpass the figures recorded in the winter of 2017/18, which killed some 30,000 people, the Telegraph reports.

The over-85s and under-fives are seeing the highest rates of flu hospitalizations, with 23.1 per 100,000 people and 20.7 per 100,000 people, respectively. While the admissions levels for both infectious diseases are rising as we head into winter, the rate of flu hospitalizations is climbing more steeply.

This surge hits as an already-overburdened NHS faces long waiting lists and a Strep A outbreak. In light of this, experts are calling for people to get a flu shot as soon as possible. Dr Conall Watson, Consultant Epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), explains: “The flu vaccine offers the best protection against severe illness and it’s not too late for everyone eligible to get it. Uptake is particularly low in those aged 2 and 3 so if your child is eligible please take up the offer.”