Seqirus, the vaccine maker, has warned surgeries in England of the possibility of them having to rearrange booked appointments as they face a delay of the jabs. The firm said: "We would like to inform you that due to unforeseen road freight challenges there will be a delay to your scheduled delivery by one to two weeks."
It is believed surgeries have already started contacting patients asking them to postpone their appointments.
NHS England confirmed to Express.co.uk there are other flu jabs available.
Seqirus added: "We realise that this unfortunate change could require you to reschedule planned influenza vaccination clinics and would like to reassure you that we are working hard to allow you to plan with certainty.
"Please do not book any clinics until you have received [a] delivery note from us [a week before planned delivery]."
A spokesperson for Seqirus said: “We could not anticipate certain challenges relating to transportation.
"These have then led to a one- to two-week delay of vaccines for our customers.
"We are working hard to resolve this.”
The Heaton Mersey medical practice GP surgery in Stockport has already started cancelling appointments.
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The surgery sent a message to patients saying: “Flu vaccine appointment cancelled! We have just been informed that all flu deliveries across the UK will be delayed, with no firm date for when we can expect delivery.
“We therefore have to cancel your appointment until we receive confirmation of a new delivery date.”
It is currently unclear as to whether Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland are also affected.
Dr Richard Vautrey, the chair of the British Medical Association’s GPs committee, said: "This issue is likely to affect a significant proportion of practices and have a serious impact on both practice workloads and, most importantly, patients.
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“Many practices will have spent the last few days and weeks meticulously planning for their flu vaccination programme, inviting and booking patients in for their jabs, only now to have to contact them all again to cancel or reschedule appointments.”
The cancellations would cause “unneeded anxiety for patients who will be keen to be protected ahead of winter”, Dr Vautrey added.
Ministers have yet to decide whether this year's flu jab rollout will also be used to administer booster Covid vaccines to vulnerable groups.
According to the Guardian, experts warned there could be as much as 50 percent more flu around this winter than usual.
Dr Gary Howsam, vice-chair of the Royal College of GPs, added: “This is news we really didn’t want to hear.
"With over 36 million people eligible for the flu vaccine on the NHS this year, GPs need the supply chain to run like clockwork.
“It is essential that as many people as possible in at-risk groups get their vaccination as early into the flu season as possible.
"A delay of even a couple of weeks is going to have a big impact on practices and their patients."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMieWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmV4cHJlc3MuY28udWsvbmV3cy91ay8xNDg2MTQ5L2ZsdS12YWNjaW5lLXN1cHBseS1pc3N1ZS1OSFMtYXBwb2ludG1lbnQtY2FuY2VsbGVkLWxhdGVzdC13aW50ZXItZmx1LWphYi11cGRhdGXSAX1odHRwczovL3d3dy5leHByZXNzLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvdWsvMTQ4NjE0OS9mbHUtdmFjY2luZS1zdXBwbHktaXNzdWUtTkhTLWFwcG9pbnRtZW50LWNhbmNlbGxlZC1sYXRlc3Qtd2ludGVyLWZsdS1qYWItdXBkYXRlL2FtcA?oc=5
2021-09-03 18:22:00Z
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