Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the current pathway to test and treat influenza.

We have not made a specific assessment. However, the diagnosis of influenza is generally made using clinical symptoms in primary care settings then confirmed by laboratory testing. Rapid testing for complicated influenza often takes place in hospitals. The treatment of influenza can involve antiviral medication and/or hospital admission. As a preventative measure, priority groups most at risk and frontline health and adult social care workers are eligible for a free influenza vaccine to protect them and prevent onward transmission to vulnerable members of the community.