Flu deaths double in one week, figures show

The number of deaths registered where flu was the underlying cause has more than doubled in a week, new figures show.

Statistics released by the National Records of Scotland on Thursday show 76 death certificates mentioned flu in the latest week, up from 37 the previous week.

The figures come as data from Public Health Scotland showed a 23% drop in the number of flu cases overall.

Public Health Scotland released new flu statistics on Thursday, which showed 1,918 recorded cases of flu in Scotland in the week to December 14, down from 2,410 the previous week.

They also show a test positivity rate of 22.9%, down from the previous week’s peak of 27.6%.

The flu statistics have been published just days after the NHS reported its worst accident and emergency wait times this year.

Approximately two in five people waited more than four hours for care at A&E departments across Scotland, which is the worst performance since the end of December 2024, when 58.9% of people at A&E were seen within four hours.

The Scottish health secretary blamed flu cases for continuing to pile pressure on hospitals.

Neil Gray said on Tuesday that there were “higher numbers of people attending A&E departments” during the current flu outbreak, which he said is “adding additional pressure to the system.”

On Thursday, he insisted that vaccination remains the “best protection against the virus”.

“As flu typically peaks in late December or January, driven by the socialising we do over Christmas and new year, I would urge those eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help protect each other and our NHS this winter,” the health secretary said.

“Evidence shows that this year’s vaccine does a good job of preventing hospital admissions for the strains currently circulating.

“As of December 14, more than 1.3 million adult flu vaccines have been delivered – over 112,000 more than this point last winter.

“The total number of flu vaccinations delivered this season, including over 499,000 children’s vaccines, is more than 1.8 million.

“We are taking a range of measures to ensure our health service is as resilient as possible over the next few months and £20 million has been allocated for health board initiatives to increase social care capacity and relieve pressure on acute services.”