Doctors are currently worried about the simultaneous onslaught of both Covid and flu expected to hit the UK this winter. Dubbed as the “twindemic”, this cocktail of viruses could compromise the health of millions of Britons. Fortunately, Doctor Hilary has shared how to protect yourself against this double whammy.
Speaking on Lorraine, the doctor said: “If you look at what’s happening in Australia, which is a good gauge of what could happen in our winter, they’ve seen the biggest number of flu cases in five years.
“One of the reasons for this is because we’ve all been wearing masks, we’ve been in lockdown, we’ve been hiding away from Covid.
“So our immunity against viruses that cause flu is also diminished.
“There is a risk that some people, particularly the people with existing medical conditions, could be at risk.”
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Between vitamins and vaccines, Doctor Hilary shared that there’s plenty you can do to protect yourself during this winter.
He said: “It’s worth looking at vitamin A, for example, as a supplement, which is good, it helps to boost our immunity and vitamin D.
“Vitamin A you can get from all sorts of things like oily fish, cheese, yoghurt, milk and other dairy products, as well as sweet potatoes and mangoes. Lots of things in your diet give you vitamin A.”
However, vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, is a bit more tricky to get from food sources.
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“Remember that the flu jab is not a live virus, it can’t give you the flu, which is a common myth still around.”
The NHS explains that you can get your free flu immunisation at a GP surgery as well as pharmacies offering the service.
Covid boosters can be booked online using the NHS website but there are also plenty of walk-in clinics that don’t require an appointment.
“What we really don’t want is this twindemic because the NHS is already on its knees and if we saw a twindemic, it would really paralyse the national health service,” Doctor Hillary added.
