Half a million elderly people in the Midlands are at risk of catching killer flu because of a vaccination flop. The prediction comes after it was revealed that less than HALF the primary care trusts in the region had hit Government targets for offering the life-saving jabs. Health ministers have ordered doctors to ensure that at least 70 per cent of vulnerable people - including the elderly, frail and young - receive the free vaccinations. But official figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that only 23 out of 54 primary care trusts in the Midlands have so far met the target. And at least 476,121 people who should have been vaccinated have slipped through the net. The Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust was the least successful trust in the region, vaccinating just over half of eligible people in its area. Only 56.9 per cent of those at risk have so far been given the jab - leaving around 11,632 elderly people not inoculated. A spokesman for the trust said there were a number of reasons why people were not taking up the jab. "Some people may be afraid of needles, some don't take the threat of flu very seriously and others may doubt the effectiveness of the jab," she said. "But the Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust has been doing better. "We know that our vaccination figures are up on last year." But Lib Dem MP Sandra Gidley wants the Government to ensure more work is done to encourage people who need to be protected to receive their jabs. "Flu can cause serious illness and death, especially in the very young and the elderly," she said. "To protect the lives of the vulnerable during the cold months, it is vital that those eligible for the free immunisation do actually receive it." The influenza virus is a global killer and can also cause pneumonia, serious heart problems and blood poisoning. Nine children are believed to have died from a killer strain of the Fujian flu bug which swept across Britain earlier this winter. They included Tamara Whitty, from Worcester, who died on November 22 after she awoke with breathing difficulties. Tests later revealed that the three year-old had died from Fujian flu. Meanwhile, relatives of two year-old Tamsin Griffiths, from Redditch, Worcestershire, who died the day after Tamara, are still waiting to hear if she had contracted the same virus. The Fujian flu, a strain of Influenza A, started in China and swept across Australia where it has been blamed for killing thousands. Health Minister Melanie Johnson admitted in a recent parliamentary answer that only 67.9 per cent of the 7.8 million people aged 65 and over in England had received the jab by the start of the flu season. And only 31 per cent of primary care trusts had met the 70 per cent target for uptake of the vaccine. Local health authorities wrote to all eligible patients at the start of winter, advising them to have the vaccination, but they are powerless to force people to have the injection. A Department of Health spokes-woman said the figures given by the minister were only "provisional data". "We should have the full figures within a week or so," she said. "The picture we are now getting shows that primary care trusts are doing much better than last winter." caroline_wheeler@mrn.co.uk | 
