People with diabetes are being urged to get their flu jab and Covid booster, as sufferers with the condition have been “disproportionately affected” by the pandemic.
Scottish research in the summer found that diabetic patients were approximately three times more likely to fall critically ill or die from the coronavirus.
During the first months of the pandemic, around 0.3% of all Scots with diabetes became seriously ill or died from Covid-19.
In the population without the condition, this proportion was 0.1%.
When looking at the statistics in more detail, researchers found the risks are even higher for older men who live in residential care or deprived areas, and have other underlying health conditions.
Overall, they said, the risks of requiring critical care or dying from Covid are “substantially elevated in those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes compared with the background population”.
Covid with diabetes ‘very real threat’
Charity Diabetes Scotland is calling on people to get vaccinated and lower their chances of developing severe complications if they catch Covid.
Director Angela Mitchell said: “People with diabetes have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and have a higher risk of becoming seriously ill if they develop Covid-19.
“The flu can be incredibly serious, and people with diabetes are particularly vulnerable to serious complications if they get it, including making your diabetes harder to manage, as well as your blood sugar levels to rise dangerously high.
“With the pandemic still posing a very real threat, it’s incredibly important that people with diabetes stay well and stay out of hospital.”
I have diabetes, can I get a Covid booster?
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has set out who is eligible for the booster.
This group includes all over-50s, frontline health and social care workers, and younger adults with certain underlying health conditions such as diabetes.
The booster can be offered any time at least six months after your second dose of the vaccine.
And some can receive their flu jab at the same time – with one vaccine in each arm.
More information about who is eligible, and if they will be given an appointment time or have to book their own when the roll-out begins later this month, is available on the NHS Inform website.