ALMOST half the people who are eligible for a flu jab in Wiltshire have been vaccinated.

Wiltshire Health Authority says it is delighted at the take-up and is hoping more people at risk will come forward for the jabs.

Meanwhile the health authority is considering whether to make the anti-flu drug Relenza available following a recommendation by the Government's medicines watchdog last week.

About 40,000 people, which works out at 45 per cent of the population, have been vaccinated in Wiltshire in the first month of a three month national campaign aimed at raising awareness of ways to keep well in the winter.

The flu jab is available free to people aged over 65 and people who suffer from conditions such as chronic respiratory, renal or heart failure, diabetes or impaired immunity.

Wiltshire Health Authority chief executive Jeremy Hallett, who helped to launch Flu Awareness Day last month, said: "The county's uptake has been excellent and shows that everyone is taking notice of this important health message."

Everyone at risk in Wiltshire should have been contacted by their local GP offering them a flu jab.

Mr Hallett urged people who had not been vaccinated but who are eligible to get in touch with their surgeries.

He said: "It makes common sense and is all about doing our best to keep well during the winter months."

Flu vaccines contain the ingredients from three different strains of flu virus.

About a week to ten days after the vaccine is injected the body makes antibodies to the vaccine viruses to protect against any similar viruses.

Relenza is a drug given once a patient is showing the symptoms of flu and reduces its duration by 24 hours. It is estimated to cost £25 per patient.

The National Institute of Clinical Excellence has recommended Relenza be prescribed for over 65s and people with chronic respiratory disease, heart disease and diabetes.

Dr Nick Brown, of Rowden Surgery, Chippenham, who is chairman of the North Wiltshire and Devizes Primary Care Group, said making Relenza available could lead to doctors being swamped.

He said: "The guidance we give to people who have flu is go to bed and take paracetamol and don't normally consult your doctor unless you run into difficulties. If Relenza is available it could lead to an avalanche of people queuing outside GPs surgeries.

"The main treatment for influenza for patients at risk is the flu jab because it's preventative."