She told the Scottish Parliament: “A mutated H3N2 flu is heading this way—it has devastated Australia, has closed schools in Japan and is surging in India and mainland Europe.”
Dame Jackie, who is Scottish Labour’ health spokesperson, warned: “The flu season has already started, more than five weeks early, and vaccination rates are down.
“There are 400,000 fewer adults vaccinated now than there were this time two years ago. Children’s vaccination rates are also down, and some areas have not even started.
“In the Highlands and Islands, GPs were promised that they would be able to deliver vaccinations to increase take-up rates, but nothing appears to have happened.”
Dame Jackie Baillie and Health Secretary Ian Gray.
She said she had earlier in the day been at a Royal College of Nursing conference with SNP government Health Secretary Ian Gray.
“We both spoke about the importance of prevention instead of the crisis-driven, sticking-plaster approaches that are so common under this Government, she said.
And then asked Mr Gray if by not delivering vaccinations at pace and scale to protect the population and to protect our NHS from winter pressures, has he cabinet secretary “failed at the first hurdle of prevention?”
Mr Gray denied this. He told Dame Jackie: “I recognise the potential prevalence of H3N2. I received a briefing on that from the chief medical officer, alongside the First Minister, earlier this week.
“It is too early to say whether that will be the dominant strain of flu this year, but I recognise Jackie Baillie’s points about the impact that it has had elsewhere in the world.
“That is also why my statement points to the need to ensure that we are asking people to take up their vaccination appointments, which I hope the member will reiterate in her communications.
“I expect that everyone who is eligible for a vaccination has now received an appointment. If they have not, they should contact NHS Inform and seek the advice that they need.
“I encourage everyone to take up the vaccine and parents to enable their children to take up the vaccine. We know that H3N2 has initially been most prevalent in children and teenagers.
“In order to prevent the spread from becoming more critical for adults, which happened last year, we need to ensure that immunity is provided, and that is exactly what we are investing in across Scotland.”