Stay away from the workplace if you’re ill this winter, employees urged

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, British workers had the tendency to “grin and bear” their illnesses – but public health officials are urging people to stay away from the workplace if you fall sick this winter.

It comes as the country prepares for to death with flu cases alongside Covid-19, amid fears that the impending flu season could be especially deadly due to reduced immunity among the general population.

The NHS plans to immunise a record 35 million people against influenza, its most ambitious programme of flu jabs in the health service’s history. Frontline health and social care workers, pregnant women, people aged 50 and over, clinically vulnerable people, and school children up to year 11 are eligible for free flu jabs.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation also recommended Covid vaccine booster jabs for all over-50s, clinically vulnerable people and frontline health and social care workers. As of Friday, 1.7 million people in England have received a booster jab.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, told Times Radio that she hopes the public will realise when they have symptoms that could be infectious and can be supported to stay away from work when ill.

She said: “I think, particularly as we approach the flu season for example, whereas people traditionally in the UK have sort of grinned and borne their infectious disease and then gone into work and spread it around, I’m hoping that, as we go through winter, people, when they are symptomatic, will generally recognise that and stay away and be supported to do so.”

Dr Harries said there is likely to be a rise in Covid cases if people return to work in large numbers immediately, but added that those who have been double-vaccinated against the virus are generally protected from severe disease.

“If everybody returned immediately to work without due consideration, then I think it’s likely we would see more cases over a short period of time, depending on whether they were wearing face coverings, whether they were taking appropriate precautions,” she said.

“But, of course, most people are protected now, so even people who are doubly vaccinated are becoming infected, (but) they are not becoming seriously ill and they are not dying in the way that we saw previously.”

“Not many people got flu last year because of Covid-19 restrictions, so there isn’t as much natural immunity in our communities as usual,” said Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer.

“We will see flu circulate this winter; it might be higher than usual and that makes it a significant public health concern.

“Covid-19 will still be circulating and with more people mixing indoors, sadly some increases are possible. For the first time we will have Covid-19 and flu co-circulating.

“We need to take this seriously and defend ourselves and the NHS by getting the annual flu jab and the Covid-19 booster when called,” he added.

Calls for people to return to their offices have been mounting since the furlough scheme came to an end in September, after 18 months.

At the Conservative Party conference last week, prime minister Boris Johnson issued a fresh call for workers to return to “buzzing” town centres, adding “we will and must see people back in the office” as he continued his drive to end working from home.