Influenza (Hansard, 12 March 2002)

§ Yvette Cooper

[holding answer 7 November 2001]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.

As with winter 2000–01, we ran a high media profile publicity campaign targeting all those aged 65 years and over as well as those in at risk groups. These are people of all ages with: chronic respiratory disease, including asthma; chronic heart disease; chronic renal disease; diabetes; immunosuppression due to disease or treatment; and those living in long-stay residential and nursing homes or other long-stay facilities.

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Information on the number of homes and beds in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved Administrations.

These people would be most at risk of high morbidity, and would be the people most likely to need hospitalisation if they caught flu.

We ran a national television advertising campaign, again featuring Sir Henry Cooper, following market research on last year's successful media programme. In addition, there were many other media adverts targeting people aged 65 years and over as well as people in the various clinical risk groups, encouraging them to be immunised.

This year, 12.2 million doses of influenza vaccine were available for the United Kingdom, some 1.3 million doses more than last year, and enough to achieve our increased minimum target in England of immunising at least 65 per cent. of people aged 65 years and over.

Final monitoring figures received at the end of December 2001 showed that 68 per cent. of those aged 65 years and over received their flu immunisation. This is three percentage points higher than the target set at the start of the campaign.