The Story Will the doctors strike put lives at risk amid the flu crisis?
Dec 17, 2025
Eleanor Hayward, the health editor at The Times, provides crucial insights on the current flu crisis, detailing high hospitalizations and vulnerable populations. Joshua Bratt shares his harrowing personal experience with severe flu symptoms, emphasizing the impact of the outbreak. The discussion also addresses the striking resident doctors and the potential risks to patient care, along with calls for vaccination and better hygiene practices to alleviate NHS pressure. It's a compelling look at a pressing public health dilemma.
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Early Severe Flu Surge
- This year's flu began about five weeks earlier and hospitalisations are roughly double usual levels for early December.
- Nearly 3,000 people were in hospital in the first week of December and numbers are expected to rise.
Heavily Mutated H3N2 Variant
- The dominant strain is influenza A H3N2 and it has drifted substantially into subclade K with around seven mutations.
- That mutation means prior immunity from vaccines or past infections may offer reduced protection.
Photographer’s Severe Flu Experience
- Joshua Bratt described sudden onset: high fevers, debilitating headache and extreme fatigue that lasted about seven days.
- He recorded temperatures up to 41.6°C and later sought A&E care before recovering around day ten.