Eligible groups have been urged to come forward for their autumn jab
Health experts have urged eligible people to book their Covid vaccines now as hospital admission rates have increased slightly. Ahead of winter illness season the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued advice on how to stay safe.
In a post made to social media platform X, it guided people to the latest flu and Covid statistics, as both viruses “continue to circulate”. It said: “We have published our latest data on flu and COVID-19, which continue to circulate at low levels
“Weekly COVID-19 hospital admission rates remain low but have increased slightly. Eligible groups can now book their vaccination appointments.”
Doctor Alex Allen, consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA, said: “This week’s data shows that flu and COVID-19 continue to circulate at low levels. While hospital admissions for COVID-19 remain low, numbers have increased slightly during the past few weeks, so now is the time to book in for the COVID-19 vaccine if you’re eligible.
“We can expect to see both flu and COVID-19 cases rise in the coming weeks as we head towards the winter months so it’s important that those eligible for the vaccines to protect against these viruses take up the offer to ensure they have the best protection.”
The UKHSA data shows that for the week of September 1, the overall weekly hospital admission rate for COVID-19 in England slightly increased to 2.05 per 100,000 compared with 1.90 per 100,000 in the previous week. Positive COVID-19 tests in hospital settings “remained stable” with a weekly mean positivity rate of 8.9 per cent compared with 9.2 per cent in the previous week.
However, there was a reduction in the number of positive tests from GP surgeries – 10 per cent were positive for SARS-CoV-2, compared with 21.2 per cent in the previous week. The data also showed that the XFG variant, which is also known as “stratus”, is most dominant in the UK.
Symptoms
The UKHSA warned: “If you have symptoms such as a high temperature, cough and feeling tired and achy, try to limit your contact with others. If you need to leave the house, you should consider wearing a face covering. Washing hands regularly and using and disposing of tissues in bins.”
Key symptoms of Covid to look for include:
- A high temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- An aching body
- A headache
- A sore throat
- A blocked or runny nose
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea
- Feeling sick or being sick
Flu symptoms can be similar and can include:
- A sudden high temperature
- An aching body
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- A dry cough
- A sore throat
- A headache
- Difficulty sleeping
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea or tummy pain
- Feeling sick and being sick
Vaccines
Based on scientific advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), those eligible for a flu vaccination this Autumn/Winter include:
From 1 September 2025:
- Pregnant women
- All children aged two or three years on 31 August 2025
- Primary school aged children (from Reception to Year 6)
- Secondary school aged children (from Year 7 to Year 11)
- All children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to less than 18 years
From 1 October 2025:
- Those aged 65 years and over
- Those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined in the Influenza chapter of the Green Book)
- Those in long-stay residential care homes
- Carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
- Close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- Frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or Personal Health budgets, such as Personal Assistants
Health and social care staff will also be offered a flu vaccine from their organisation from 1 October 2025, with multiple convenient options to get vaccinated based around working and shift patterns.
This year’s autumn COVID-19 vaccination programme will run from 1 October 2025 to 31 January 2026 and those eligible include:
- Adults aged 75 years and over
- Residents in a care home for older adults
- Individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed (as defined in the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book)