GPs have seen a sharp decline in patients seeking flu vaccination this autumn, it was announced today.
The number of vaccinations has fallen by 6% compared with last year, according to the Royal College of GPs.
The finding emerged from the weekly surveillance reports the college conducts.
Professor Simon de Lusignan, who heads the research team, said the fridges in his practice were full with vaccines because of the unexpectedly poor take up.
Doctors fear patients may have been lulled by the mild autumn into not preparing for the winter.
Follow-up checks show that practices have on average given 106 fewer vaccines than a year ago.
He said: “The reasons for this are unclear, but it is possible that perceptions of lower vaccine effectiveness last year may have influenced people.
“However, the overall effectiveness of the vaccine last year was reasonable and patients are much better protected by having it. One of the reasons that we no longer experience the major flu outbreaks that we had during the 1960s and 1970s could be due to the flu vaccination policy so successfully delivered from general practice.”
College chair Dr Maureen Baker said the figures were "extremely alarming."
She said: "We are experiencing an incredibly mild November this year but we don’t need cold weather for a flu outbreak and influenza is a horrible illness that can also trigger a host of other health problems."
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