Free flu vaccinations for Queenslanders in 2024
Every resident in the state older than six months will be eligible in 2024, and the RACGP has called on other states to follow suit.
By Michelle Wisbey at newsGP
With just one-third of Queenslanders currently vaccinated against influenza, the State Government has announced a $40 million funding injection aimed at boosting those numbers.
The program will begin at the start of the 2024 flu season, and aim to lessen pressure on emergency departments and ease cost of living burdens for families.
Queensland’s subsidised flu programs have already seen almost one million people receive a free vaccine in 2022 and 2023.
RACGP Vice-President and Queensland Chair Dr Bruce Willett applauded the move and encouraged other governments to follow the state’s lead.
‘Vaccination is our best protection against influenza, and the most effective way to prevent deaths and serious illness,’ he said.
‘The Queensland Government’s early announcement of free flu jabs for everyone next flu season is a forward-thinking and sensible policy.
‘It’s much better to be proactive, rather than waiting until the flu season is underway.’
The State Government said it has also begun work on a new immunisation campaign lobbying for an expansion of the National Immunisation Program (NIP) to cover more Australians’ flu vaccine costs.
State Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said the program will provide Queenslanders with certainty and remove any financial barriers for people wanting to get vaccinated.
‘Nearly all cases of people presenting to hospital with the flu had not been vaccinated, this puts significant pressure on our emergency departments,’ she said.
‘Making it free from the start of the flu season is designed to help keep people safe and ensure our health system is available for Queenslanders who need it most.
‘Ultimately, we would like the flu vaccination to be free for everyone as part of the Commonwealth’s NIP and I’ll continue advocating for that.’
According to the latest national immunisation data, 9.3 million Australians were vaccinated against the flu between 1 March and 3 October this year – 16% less than the same period in 2022.
Queensland pushes for free flu jabs nationwide
State health minister Shannon Fentiman says the federal government should subsidise the vaccines under national immunisation scheme
By Andrew Messenger at AAP
The Queensland government says it will push for the commonwealth to roll out free flu vaccinations across the nation every year, after announcing its own one-off program amid an outbreak of the virus.
The state government on Monday said it would spend as much as much as $10m on subsidising the vaccine, citing low vaccination rates across the state.
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said this year’s influenza B strain was particularly severe and encouraged people to get vaccinated.
“I don’t want there to be any barriers to getting the flu jab, which is why I am reinstating free flu vaccinations for all Queenslanders,” Palaszczuk said.
“If you are sick, please stay at home. That includes children going to school.”
A pharmacist prepares a vaccination
Why are Australian children dying from the flu and what can we do to prevent it?
Read more
The health minister, Shannon Fentiman, said she believed the federal government should fund the vaccination through the national immunisation program.
The program provides free vaccines to children, old people and high-risk groups for diseases like measles, mumps and rubella among others, according to the immunisation schedule.
“Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if this was part of the national immunisation program?” Fentiman said.
She said she will use this week’s meeting of Australia’s health ministers to push the idea.
“Queensland’s position is this should be made free every year, for flu, and that’s the position that I’ll be putting to the federal minister and our state and territory counterparts,” she said.
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“This should be something that every individual can access for free.”
The state’s chief health officer, Dr John Gerrard, said the Queensland government was stepping in this year because rates of flu were so high.
“The number of people in intensive care with Covid is significantly smaller than those with influenza,” he said.
He said due to the high rates of Covid vaccinations “influenza, at the moment, in the unimmunised, is clearly a worse disease than Covid”.
There have been 51,426 reported cases of flu in Queensland this year, with 3,676 people sent to hospital. Of those, 35 have been sent to the ICU, while 56 people have died.
2023 National influenza Immunisation Program
Vaccination against influenza (flu) continues to be important this year. Vaccination is our best defence against flu viruses.
From Department of Health and Aged Care
2023 influenza vaccination
In 2022, there was a resurgence of influenza arising from the reopening of international borders. In 2023, seasonal influenza activity is expected to continue, and we encourage you to emphasise the importance of influenza vaccination.
Annual vaccination is the most important measure to prevent influenza and its complications. It is recommended for all people 6 months of age and older.
At risk groups
Influenza vaccination is particularly important for those considered most at risk. Under the National Immunisation Program free influenza vaccines are provided to the following high risk groups:
children aged 6 months to less than 5 years
all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over
people aged 6 months and over with certain medical conditions that increase their chance of severe influenza and its complications
pregnant women (at any stage during pregnancy)
people aged 65 years and over.
Uptake of influenza vaccination in children under 5, First Nations people and pregnant women is low, and there is a need to continue to improve vaccination rates in these cohorts.
Vaccine supply and timing
National Immunisation Program (NIP) influenza vaccines will be available to order from April, subject to local supply arrangements.
Annual influenza vaccination should occur from April onwards to provide protection for the peak of the influenza season, which is generally June to September in most parts of Australia. Note though, vaccination can occur as soon as vaccine stock is available.
Influenza vaccines can be co-administered (given on the same day) with any COVID-19 vaccine.
It is mandatory to report all influenza vaccines administered to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR), both NIP and private vaccines.
Prepare for the season
Discard expired vaccines. Some influenza vaccine brands expired in December 2022 and others expire on 28 February 2023. Dispose of vaccines according to your local level protocols.
Order 2023 vaccines. You can order NIP influenza vaccines through the usual channels in your state or territory. Contact your state or territory immunisation program if you have any questions.
Promote the free vaccine to eligible people and priority groups. A recommendation from a health professional is key to many people taking up a vaccine. We will distribute posters, program advice and information cards to General Practices and Aboriginal Health Services from April. Resources are available from the 2023 influenza resource collection. General information about influenza for consumers can be found at health.gov.au/flu.
Consider opportunities to co-administer vaccines. You can give influenza vaccines on the same day (co-administered) as any COVID-19 vaccine. Give patients the option to have both vaccinations if appropriate.
Ensure vaccine safety. Always check the patient’s age before vaccination and use the correct influenza vaccine for their age.
Report to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). Report all influenza vaccines administered to the AIR, both NIP and private vaccines.
Consider flu jabs sooner because of coronavirus
Infectious disease experts say influenza vaccine should be released earlier, amid fears the coronavirus pandemic could hit at the peak of flu season.
By Melissa Cunningham and Dana McCauley at The Sydney Morning Herald
The influenza vaccine should be released early this year, infectious disease experts say, amid growing fears the global coronavirus pandemic could hit Australia at the peak of the flu season.
Professor Nigel McMillan, an infectious disease expert at Griffith University, said the dual threat of being infected with both potentially lethal respiratory illnesses at the same time meant the flu vaccine should be rolled out earlier than planned.
Flu shots for hospital staff in high-risk roles
While there are already guidelines encouraging hospital staff to get their flu jabs, until now, it has not been mandatory.
By Melissa Cunningham at The Age
Frontline staff in Victoria's hospitals will be forced to get the flu jab under sweeping new regulations being rolled out by the state government.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos announced on Thursday that it will be mandatory for workers in high-risk areas including intensive care units, neonatal intensive care units and cancer wards to be vaccinated against the flu.
Why you should still get the flu vaccine
Jab reduces risk by half, say experts as figures indicate infection rate three times higher than normal.
From The Guardian Australia
The young, the old and those with underlying medical conditions are most prone to flu danger.
Australian medical experts say it is still not too late to get the flu vaccine as concerns rise over a death toll attributed to the illness.
More than 220 Australians have died from the flu this year. On Thursday, Victorian health authorities announced that 43-year-old James Day, from Traralgon, had died after a week in hospital from flu complications.
When is the best time to get your flu shot?
The best way to protect against influenza is to get a flu vaccine each year.
By Ian Barr at The Conversation
When most of us get the flu, we spend three or four days on the couch feeling miserable, then we bounce back pretty quickly.
But others have more severe symptoms and need to be hospitalised because they're at risk of life-threatening complications. Some people even die from the flu.
The size and impact of influenza seasons varies from year to year. In 2017, Australia had its worst flu season for 20 years, with at least 1,255 lives lost.
Flu Vax takeup growing in Aussie Businesses
An increasing number of Australian companies will vaccinate against flu.
From the blog of The Australian Journal of Pharmacy.
It’s a bid to fight the rise in absenteeism and create healthier and more productive workforces, the group says.
As Australia heads towards its 2019 flu season, many employees are again expected to take multiple sick days to recover from illness.
Absenteeism currently costs the Australian economy about $7 billion, while the cost of presenteeism (where employees are sick on the job) is approximately $34 billion through lost productivity.
In 2018, approximately 48,276 cases of influenza were reported nationwide.
Flu costs Australian employers $7 billion
Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) employers are being encouraged to take advantage of flu vaccinations this year
Freya Lucas writes for The Sector.
Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) employers are being encouraged to take advantage of flu vaccinations this year, with absenteeism (being absent from work due to illness) costing $7 billion each year in lost wages, and presenteeism (attending work whilst unwell) costing $34 billion in lost productivity.
Queensland leads the nation in flu cases in 2019
As temperature records were set across Queensland, the state hit another undesirable milestone - recording almost three times the five-year average for summer flu cases.
Stuart Layt writes for The Brisbane Times
As temperature records were set across Queensland, the state hit another undesirable milestone - recording almost three times the five-year average for summer flu cases.
Since the start of January to February 10 this year there have been nearly 2600 lab confirmed cases of influenza, compared to an average of 881 confirmed cases for the same period in the previous five years.
Queensland also leads the nation in the number of influenza cases so far this year, with New South Wales in second place with 2196 cases.
Summer influenza cases double in NSW
An “unusually high” number of people have been hit with the flu this summer in NSW - double that seen in 2018.
Read more from News.com.au