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The RCGP has called for it to be broadened to cover people aged 50-65 and children aged six months to three years old.

Flu vaccination is currently recommended for over-65s in the UK, and at-risk groups such as people with respiratory problems.

The change would incorporate roughly 16 million more people into the UK flu campaign each year.

RCN Practice Nurse Association chair Kate Howie warned: 'Flu season is pretty hectic anyway, and this could increase workload phenomenally in some areas.'

However, she recognised that the move could cover more at-risk or borderline at-risk groups than the current flu programme.

The call to extend flu vaccination comes after research showed uptake levels for Great Britain are lagging behind the European average. This latest study assessed the levels of influenza vaccination coverage in England, Scotland and Wales for conse- cutive flu seasons from 2001 to 2006.

Vaccination coverage for Great Britain increased by more than 3 per cent over the study period to reach 25.9 per cent, but still fell short of the European average of 26.5 per cent.

Lead researcher Dr Thomas Szucs, from the University of Zurich, said primary care clinicians should 'be aware of their active role and responsibility to identify the at-risk population, recommending the vaccination and making access to the vaccine simple'.

The WHO has emphasised the importance of flu vaccination, stating that 'the risk of a new flu pandemic is at its highest level since the last pandemic in 1968'.

RCGP immunisation spokesman and Berkshire GP Dr George Kassianos believes many patients who require a flu jab have yet to be immunised. He said that extending flu vaccinations to over-50s and children aged six months to three years old would provide better cover for the general population by increasing protection for the most vulnerable.

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