AS ANNUAL FLU season approaches, many older people will be aware of the call to get the flu vaccine with their local GP or pharmacy.

Flu causes serious illness in older and at-risk groups, and the current recommendation is that all people aged over 60 should get the flu vaccine each year. Although less seasonal in pattern, a similar recommendation exists for the over 60s and those with weaker immune systems to get an annual Covid-19 vaccine.

Both flu and Covid can cause serious illness, which can lead to severe strain on the health service. However, we also have other seasonal threats at winter, like Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

The virus is normally considered an issue for younger toddlers, with a hospitalisation rate of 2,500 per 100,000 children under one year. But the hospitalisation rate of 75 per 100,000 older adults is not insignificant – especially when one considers the other consequences of infection in later life.

RSV is a very significant illness in later life and is probably the second greatest cause of acute respiratory illness after flu in older people over winter. Last year was a bad RSV year, with a reported 500 known hospitalisations in older adults in the 2023-2024 season and an estimated 34,000 to 58,000 infections across the country, the majority undetected or occurring in community and nursing home settings.

About two in every 1,000 people get shingles every year, the majority (80%) of whom are in the over 50s category. About 11 per 1,000 people over 80 get shingles. Like a bad memory, shingles is the reactivation of the chickenpox virus you had as a child, often re-emerging when you are ‘run down’ by other illnesses or disease.

A common belief is you can contract shingles, but this is not true. You already had the virus lying dormant since the days of your chickenpox, waiting for its chance to re-emerge. It’s a nasty illness associated........

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