Written by Dr. Andrew Kemp
The first thing to say, is that there is no such thing described as “Super Flu” in a medical dictionary. Super flu is a term used to describe the lack of immunity seen in any community to a circulating flu virus strain.
What this means in real terms is that those who are already most at risk are unlikely to have much in the way of immunity, and will therefore be more likely to become symptomatic. Whilst the symptoms remain the same, for those vulnerable groups, the consequences are also potentially more serious.
Who is most at risk?
Predominantly vulnerable groups are (not an exclusive list);
- Pregnant women
- All children aged 2 or 3 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
- Those aged 65 years and over
- Those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (you should know who you are)
- Those in long-stay residential care homes
Should I get the flu vaccine?
The NHS web site has advice about who needs the flu vaccine. Whilst I don’t want to put anyone off the vaccine if it is recommended, for those considering it who aren’t in the “recommended” groups, please keep in mind the study done last year at the Cleveland Clinic in the US. The study titled, “Effectiveness of the influenza vaccine during the 2024-2025 Respiratory viral season” was published in the “medRxiv” journal (NB Shrestha eta al) April 4th 2025. The headline is that staff at the hospital that received the vaccine were at 26.9% higher risk of influenza, suggesting that last years vaccine was not effective at preventing influenza.
