Flu deaths in Scotland hit 45-year high as rate nearly doubles compared to last year

Flu deaths in Scotland have hit a 45-year high with 463 having died so far in 2025, according to new figures.

Data from the National Records of Scotland analysed by leading health charity Asthma + Lung UK Scotland show that a record number of people have died from flu in the first 14 weeks of the year, with 2025 set to reach the highest numbers of flu deaths since 1979.

Hospitals across Scotland struggled to cope with a large influx of people being admitted due to flu this winter.

Charity Asthma + Lung UK Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to take action to help prevent flu deaths, after analysis shows that so far this year there have been 463 deaths where flu was the underlying cause.

The number of deaths in the first 14 weeks of this year has nearly doubled compared to the same period in 2024.

Meanwhile flu has been mentioned on the death certificate of 567 people so far in 2025.

Information from Public Health Scotland shows that overall flu vaccinations this winter are down by a fifth compared to the previous winter, with over 350,000 fewer vaccines administered. In 2023/24, almost 1.65 million people received a flu vaccine, with numbers falling to under 1.3 million in winter 2024/25.

When broken down, there has been a significant fall in those from the poorest quintile (24%), those aged 18-64 at risk (21%) and health care (13%) and social care (31%) workers. For ages 65 to 74, the rate of vaccinations this winter is 69% of all those eligible, down from 76% the year before.

Joseph Carter, head of Asthma + Lung UK Scotland, said “We knew that flu was particularly bad this winter, but these statistics are truly shocking. With the worst flu seasons in recent years, we saw hospitals across Scotland at breaking point but now is the time for practical long-term solutions.

“We need to learn from this devastating winter and vaccinate far more people. Removing the 50–65-year-old group from being eligible for the flu jab removed almost half a million people from the list, and sent the wrong message that flu was less serious.

“We would urge the Scottish Government to offer free flu vaccines to 50-64-year-olds as happened in Northern Ireland this year. Vaccinating more people will not only reduce the spread of flu but will also help to protect the most vulnerable as well easing the enormous pressures on the NHS.

“The fact that people with lung conditions are seven times more likely to die if they catch flu compared to healthy adults means we also need better year-round care for people with chronic lung conditions to help stop hospital admissions.

“With the Respiratory Care Action Plan (RCAP) coming to an end, the Scottish Government needs to develop a new fully funded strategy to prevent, diagnose and treat people living with lung conditions like COPD and asthma.

“Deepening health inequalities is also an issue, with Scotland’s poorest communities seeing higher mortality rates associated with lung conditions than the more affluent.”

Public Health Scotland said: “Sadly, flu can cause serious illness and even death in some people and we are aware of the higher number of death registrations mentioning flu recorded by National Records of Scotland.

“Scotland has experienced a severe influenza season as demonstrated by a number of our surveillance metrics across 2024/2025.

“Comparing data on reported flu deaths over time is challenging. Historically, deaths from flu have been poorly recorded but over the years this has improved due to changes in testing and reporting. It is generally recognised that flu deaths have been underreported for many years. Improved testing procedures and the greater availability of testing has allowed more accurate determination of ‘contribution to’ or ’causes of’ death, particularly those from flu. The implementation of more robust reporting systems has also contributed to current day figures being higher than has been the case in previous decades.

“While this winter saw high levels of flu circulating, the numbers of cases infected with flu before the introduction of the national immunisation programme were much higher.

“This year’s winter vaccination programme focused on protecting those most vulnerable to flu, as well as COVID-19. We strongly urged all eligible people to take up the offer of vaccines this winter.”