There has been considerable speculation in the press that, following the COVID-19 pandemic with people isolating, we have left the population vulnerable to a flu epidemic next winter.
It is difficult to predict whether this will come true or not. We have not had a severe flu epidemic for several years, but COVID has changed the immune levels and demographics considerably.
We should definitely prepare for a large-scale flu vaccination programme starting around September 2021. That should include as many vulnerable people, older people, and as many adults as possible. In addition, flu vaccines are available for children.
Following the success of the vaccine rollout for COVID in all age groups, we can now use this information to extend the flu vaccination programme to virtually the entire population, rather than just limit it to a few specific groups. In this way, we should get a successful and wide-ranging flu vaccination programme.