FLU JABS URGED AS CASES 'SKYROCKET'

Call to protect NHS over tough winter

- SHANNON MILLER

CASES of flu are rocketing, health leaders warn as they urge people to get their jab before Christmas to protect loved ones and the NHS.

Those eligible for the free injection or spray have been encouraged to take up the offer straight away as health service staff brace for a challenging winter.

The warning came as Health Secretary Wes Streeting told hospital chiefs to "put patients ahead of targets".

Health bosses say hospitals are tackling rising levels of Covid-19, norovirus and respiratory syncytial virus.

The number of people in hospital with flu has quadrupled in comparison with last year, according to figures for the NHS in England.