Australians urged to get flu vaccine as infections surge

flu season Australians are being urged to get their annual vaccination as another flu season looms and influenza rates are soaring in some parts of the country.

Australian Center for Disease Control interim director Professor Paul Kelly said free vaccines were now available to those most at risk of complications.

“People can receive the vaccine at general practices, pharmacies, immunization clinics and, in many cases, at their workplace,” he said in a statement.

Mr Kelly said children under 14 had the highest influenza infection rates in 2023.

“But what is concerning is that vaccine uptake in this group was very low,” he said.

Meanwhile, New South Wales health data shows influenza rates have already increased this year in Australia's most populous state.

More than 4,700 people in New South Wales were diagnosed with influenza in the past four weeks, an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year, according to the latest respiratory surveillance report.

“Last year we saw an increase in ED cases among young children, some of whom were admitted to intensive care with life-threatening complications from influenza,” said Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant. .

“We don’t want it to happen again this year, so we’re urging families to book their free flu vaccine for children under five now.”

There were 480 people admitted to hospitals in New South Wales with a flu-like illness between January 6 and April 14, compared to 284 in the same period in 2023.

“The good news is that the 2023 vaccines were very effective in saving people from having to go to hospital or visit their GP,” Mr Kelly said.

Kelly said children under the age of five are at higher risk of severe illness and death from the flu.

A total of 39 people died from influenza in Australia last year, nine of them children under 16.

“This is higher than the number of influenza-related deaths in 2022 and in many years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kelly said.

“This is a tragic reminder that influenza is not the common cold that people often misunderstand. Influenza is a serious virus that can cause serious illness, hospitalization, and death in healthy children and adults.”

Today in history: The disease affects an entire generation, killing 40 million people.

He called on everyone over six months of age to get vaccinated.

People eligible for the free flu vaccine include children aged 6 months to under 5 years, pregnant women, Indigenous Australians, people over 65 and people with certain medical conditions that put them at higher risk. included.

For convenience, you may receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as recommended.

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