There's no perfect prescription for preventing winter deaths, but this year the flu jab has had a shot in the arm

Analysis As the ONS warns flu played a significant part in 50,000 extra deaths last winter, Alex Matthews-King explains why it should be one symptom the NHS doesn't have to look out for this year

Key flu strains have to be predicted 18 months in advance give time to produce vaccines (Getty)

The Office for National Statistics figures revealing that last winter was the deadliest since the 1970s have reopened concerns about seasonal preparedness as another December rolls around.

Between December 2017 and March 2018 there were 50,100 “extra” deaths – over and above the rates expected from the last five years and the biggest spike since 1975-76.

The King’s Fund think tank has warned that these spikes could become a continual trend. The UK’s population is steadily ageing and reductions in heart attacks and strokes – which have reliably occurred for decades – have begun to slow amidst the longest funding squeeze on record.