Prof Frankie Swords, the NHS medical director, said there were indications of looming winter pressure for the health service.
She said: “From an NHS perspective, it is very early in the season, but the number of admissions for flu are the highest that I can remember seeing at this time of year, and it’s coincided with just the start of the expected increase in Covid cases in our hospitals.
“But this is coming on the back of the busiest summer we’ve ever had in our emergency departments. We have got very, very busy hospitals, so slightly ominous early signs of winter pressure.”
There are three types of flu virus and, while it is too early to know which one may dominate this winter, the current vaccine protects against all three. Early data show there is an equal mix of subtypes A(H3N2) and A(H1N1) in England, the UKHSA said.
Prof Swords revealed that 3.9 million people had had their flu vaccinations since the start of last month.
The NHS started vaccinating pregnant women, toddlers and school-age children from Sept 1, with adults aged 65 and over and other eligible adults offered the protection from Oct 1.
“In September, on average, 95 per cent of our occupancy was used every day – and that’s September,” said Prof Swords.
“So although the weather’s still nice, and perhaps people aren’t thinking too much about flu at the moment, we are acting early and I’d really encourage people to act early. Winter is coming, and the pressure is going to build and rise as temperatures fall.”
Analysis suggests that the vaccination programme in England last winter prevented around 100,000 hospital admissions and 7,000 deaths.