Anonymous
The flu season has started early this year all across the UK not just Scotland, according to the UK Health Agency (November 13) in its ‘National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report’.
And on past performance, flu vaccine uptake in Scotland will compare well with other parts of the UK, again based on UKHA’s official records. For data on the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons see https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/influenza-in-the-uk-annual-epidemiological-report-winter-2024-to-2025/influenza-in-the-uk-annual-epidemiological-report-winter-2024-to-2025#vaccination
It’s notable that many of the metrics show a fall in take-up of the flu vaccine across all nations of the UK between 2023-24 and subsequent season.
Here are some statistics comparing recent vaccine take-up rates in Scotland and in Wales from the UKHA. No sense here that Scotland’s recent track record of preparation and delivery of a flu vaccination programme has been any less successful than that in Wales overseen by a British Labour Party government – on the contrary in some respects.
SCOTLAND: 65 years and older: 2024-25 season: 74.1% and 2023-24 season: 79.8%
WALES: 65 years and older: 2024-25 season: 70.3% and 2023-24 season: 72.5%
…
SCOTLAND: ‘At risk groups’: 2024-25 season: 34.6% and 2023-24 season: 42.2%
WALES: 6 months to under 65 years with underlying clinical risk factor/s: 2024-25 season: 36.8% and 2023-24 season: 39.1%.
…
Childhood influenza programmes in Scotland and Wales from the UKHA:
SCOTLAND: Preschool children (2 to under 5 years old): 2024-25 season 50.3% and 2023-24 season: 48.8%
WALES: 2-3 year olds: Season 2024-25 43.6% and Season 2023-24 44.1%
…
SCOTLAND: Primary school children: 2024-25 68.1% and 2023-24: 69.0%
WALES: Primary school children: 2024-25 61.6% and 2023-24 61.9%
…
SCOTLAND: Secondary school pupils: 2024-25 season 53.1% and 2023-24 season 52.9%
WALES: Secondary school children: 2024-25 season 51.9% and. 2023-24 season 49.7%.
(For Scotland’s schools data, the UKHA states that caution should be taken when comparing uptake percentages between the seasons due to changes in data collection methods.)
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
” The flu season has started early this year all across the UK not just Scotland ” in response to the Lazy Winters piece for HMS James Cook however correct, but can hardly be a surprise given the changing weather patterns from last year to this, which gives rise to increased susceptibility to whatever particular respiratory infections are doing the rounds.
Yet despite that sort of ‘impartial’ reporting not being James Cook’s strong ‘suit’, it was most amusing to see BBC UK’s ” Chance of snow in UK this week after Storm Claudia clears ” which having initially appeared was retitled ” Chance of snow in Scotland this week after Storm Claudia clears “, which largely explains demotion of the 1 day old ” Inverness sees Scotland’s first snowfall of season “….
Darren Bett’s ” Chance of snow in UK this week after Storm Claudia clears ” https://archive.ph/qGmRs however, wonderfully examples the ‘London’ view of ‘thar be dragons’ territory, “Snow in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire on 18 November last year” – Yet his greatest disconnect as a ‘national broadcaster’ are the maps showing MAXIMUM expected temperatures across the UK, with this observation ” For many places it has been very mild since the start of the month. On Thursday the temperature reached 18.7 Celsius (65.6 F) in Surrey. But already the air was much colder in Scotland. Hence the battle “
The ‘battle’ Darren, is at night when temperatures plummet ‘oop north’, and the farther north you go the deeper it plummets as they watch the kWh rack up – And here’s the rub Darren – Despite being closest to the source of power as enshrined in the privatisation of energy, they pay through the nose to keep you comfy in London WAY cheaper.
My apologies for the diversion to the original point – But between James Cook, Lazy Winters and Darren Bett living in Narnia, it pisses me off….
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Appreciate off topic but I’m pretty confident Willie Rennie’s LIB dem chums will calling for a public enquiry into the severe and extensive flooding in Labour run Wales and the poor state of flood defences..
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O/T Tho’ staying with the challenges of winter, a newly published research paper published by UK Parliament Post has noteworthy statistics on levels of winter mortality across the UK. It reports a statistic favourable to Scotland and therefore worthy of mention – after all, if not here, where?
(We know that favourable statistics about life in Scotland are strong candidates for media bias by omission and if the same research had reported an unfavourable statistic, someone in BBC Scotland or their ilk would have noticed and amplified it.)
Source: Hassan and Chapman (Sept 9, 2025) Winter mortality. UK Parliament Post. (https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-0752/POST-PN-0752.pdf )
Background: ’Winter mortality in the UK is higher than in some colder European countries, suggesting some of these deaths may be preventable.’
The authors explain: ‘Cold temperatures, infections, fuel poverty and poor housing contribute to winter mortality, particularly among older adults, children and people with long-term health conditions.’
‘Winter mortality in the UK has been linked to fuel poverty, changes to welfare and pressures on the NHS.’
The authors note: ‘Vaccination programmes for flu, covid- 19 and RSV are effective in reducing winter illness and death, though uptake remains low in some groups.’
The paper’s Table 10 reports on the Excess Winter Mortality Index (EWMI %) for the four nations of the UK in 2023-24 i.e. the number of excess winter deaths expressed as a percentage of the average number of non-winter deaths. An EWMI of 10% indicates that deaths in winter were 10% higher than in the non-winter period.
Here are the comparative figures: England = 9.1%; NI = 13.6%; Scotland = 8.9%; Wales = 9.2%.
So, Scotland has the lowest difference in excess mortality between summer and winter despite Scotland consistently seeing the coldest winters. I understand from web searches that England, Wales and Northern Ireland experience winter temperatures that are an average of around 1.5-2C warmer.
My AI ‘assistant’ ChatGPT sets out in detail multiple, potentially contributing factors behind these statistics – a number relate to effective Scotland-specific public policies – but listing them would test your patience as a reader even more!
Let’s leave the headline figure: let Lisa Summers of BBC Scotland or the Tory’s Gulhane or Labour’s Baillie explain it away or find a way to claim it as a Union dividend, if they so choose!
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O/T Tho’ keeping with the challenges of winter, a newly published research paper published by UK Parliament Post has noteworthy statistics on levels of winter mortality across the UK. It reports a statistic favourable to Scotland and therefore worthy of mention – if not here, where?
(We know that favourable statistics about life in Scotland are strong candidates for media bias by omission and if the same research had reported an unfavourable statistic, someone in BBC Scotland or their ilk would have noticed and amplified it.)
Source: Hassan and Chapman (Sept 9, 2025) Winter mortality. UK Parliament Post. (https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-0752/POST-PN-0752.pdf )
Background: ’Winter mortality in the UK is higher than in some colder European countries, suggesting some of these deaths may be preventable.’
The authors explain: ‘Cold temperatures, infections, fuel poverty and poor housing contribute to winter mortality, particularly among older adults, children and people with long-term health conditions.’
‘Winter mortality in the UK has been linked to fuel poverty, changes to welfare and pressures on the NHS.’
And: ‘Cold exposure increases mortality. Most cold-related deaths occur on moderately cold days, as these are more frequent than extremely cold days. Cold weather exacerbates chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses and dementia. Respiratory infections including flu, covid- 19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are more prevalent in winter and can also exacerbate chronic conditions.’
The authors note: ‘Vaccination programmes for flu, covid- 19 and RSV are effective in reducing winter illness and death, though uptake remains low in some groups.’
The paper’s Table 10 reports on the Excess Winter Mortality Index (EWMI %) for the four nations of the UK in 2023-24 i.e. the number of excess winter deaths expressed as a percentage of the average number of non-winter deaths. An EWMI of 10% indicates that deaths in winter were 10% higher than in the non-winter period.
Here are the comparative figures: England = 9.1%; NI = 13.6%; Scotland = 8.9%; Wales = 9.2%. So, Scotland has the lowest difference in excess mortality between summer and winter despite Scotland consistently seeing the coldest winters. I understand from web searches that England, Wales and Northern Ireland experience winter temperatures that are an average of around 1.5-2C warmer.
My AI ‘assistant’ ChatGPT sets out in detail multiple, potentially contributing factors behind these statistics – a number relate to effective Scotland-specific public policies – but listing them would test your patience as a reader even more! Let’s leave the headline figure: let Lisa Summers of BBC Scotland or the Tory’s Gulhane or Labour’s Baillie explain it away or find a way to claim it as a Union dividend, if they so choose!
stewartb
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