Now there’s a surprise Mr Fraggle, I don’t suppose the covid vaccines have had anything to do with it…
If I were you, Jazzi, I would go to a pharmacy and get it done there. Then cancel the appointment at your doctor’s.
My local Superdrug offered this, but you have to download the flipping app first, then try and book. I couldn’t be bothered.
Edited. Well, got the app, but can’t book any slot. Argh.
Are there more deaths from flu than from covid?
Data from the Office for National Statistics show that in England and Wales the number of deaths from influenza was 1598 in 2018 and 1223 in 2019.1 This is way below the annual deaths from covid-19, which at the current rate of around 800 deaths a week in England and Wales equates to more than 40 000 a year.2Disagreements have emerged on social media because some commentators have quoted much higher figures for annual deaths from flu.3 The reason for the discrepancy, as highlighted by the health systems researcher Dan Goyal,4 is that flu and pneumonia deaths are often reported together, including by the ONS itself. When pneumonia deaths are included with flu, the number would be 29 516 in 2018 and 26 398 in 2019. This is obviously closer to covid death numbers, though still less, according to current trends.
Are there more deaths from flu than from covid?
Data from the Office for National Statistics show that in England and Wales the number of deaths from influenza was 1598 in 2018 and 1223 in 2019.1 This is way below the annual deaths from covid-19, which at the current rate of around 800 deaths a week in England and Wales equates to more than 40 000 a year.2Disagreements have emerged on social media because some commentators have quoted much higher figures for annual deaths from flu.3 The reason for the discrepancy, as highlighted by the health systems researcher Dan Goyal,4 is that flu and pneumonia deaths are often reported together, including by the ONS itself. When pneumonia deaths are included with flu, the number would be 29 516 in 2018 and 26 398 in 2019. This is obviously closer to covid death numbers, though still less, according to current trends.
Covid mortality data have also been the subject of debate. Through the pandemic some datasets, including Public Health England’s, have included all deaths from any cause within 28 days of a positive covid test. Some sceptics have argued that this approach has overestimated the number of people dying from covid-19. But as The BMJ’s columnist David Oliver and the expert statistician David Spiegelhalter have pointed out,56 this approach has probably under-recognised the real number of deaths from covid-19, because of an initial absence of testing back in spring 2020, and because people who survived more than 28 days before dying from covid will not have been included. The ONS’s data, considered the most accurate, are based on cases where covid 19 is mentioned on death certificates. As Spiegelhalter has highlighted, 90% of death certificates where covid-19 is recorded identify it as the primary, underlying cause of death.
Had my flu jab a few days ago…apart from a slightly sore arm no side effects …he asked me if I had had my shingles jab…I didn’t know there was such a thing so he checked and yes I’ve had it…terrible that I did t know I’d even had it.
V phoned our local independent pharmacy, where we have our regular prescriptions sent to, and made our appointments there and then. It was easy peasy.
@ AnnieS, So maybe half the covid deaths recorded were
actually pnuemonia Annie ??
So much for data !!
Donkeyman! 
The problem with the C-19 statistics are the false impression they give. The figures are always given are for those that died with a confirmed C-19 infection which is in no way related to a C-19 death unless the death certificate specifically states cause of death was C-19
Or perhaps Covid deaths are underreported?
The source I posted (BMJ) indicated Covid deaths were likely underreported in the first wave because they didn’t have adequate testing facilities for months. I remember they did a big exercise to clean up the covid death stats based on how the deaths were classified back in June/Jul last year and the numbers fell by about ten or fifteen thousand.