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Experts call for free flu vaccines for all Australians amid fight against COVID

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A leading infectious diseases expert has urged that the influenza vaccine be made available to all Australians in order to avert a health “disaster.”

Ian Barr, WHO Deputy Director of the Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Influenza, recently stated that governments should fully fund flu vaccinations to emphasize their importance.

According to federal Health Department data, nearly 5.9 million people aged five years and older, or 24% of the population, and 151,189 Australians younger than five years had received a flu vaccine as of Sunday, according to Xinhua news agency.

The low numbers come despite governments and health officials across the country urging as many people as possible to get vaccinated in order to protect the health system ahead of a predicted winter spike in flu and Covid-19 cases.

“The Covid vaccination has set the precedent. It sends a message the government thinks it’s a priority,” Barr told the Guardian Australia.

“There’s a two-year gap when we haven’t been exposed, and we know immunity wanes especially if you’re not vaccinated.”

“What we don’t normally see is quite so many kids in hospital but a lot of this is due to high numbers. There’ll be deaths for sure, and no doubt increased pressure on hospitals.”

There had been 10,599 confirmed influenza cases in Australia as of May 8, compared to fewer than 1,000 in 2021 due to coronavirus restrictions and border closures.

In the Northern Territory’s Central Australia region, 36% of confirmed flu cases in 2022 have been hospitalized for treatment, raising concerns about a severe season.

“This is the first full flu season for three years while our hospitals are already full,” Australian Medical Association Vice-President, Chris Moy said.

“It’s quite a scary prospect. We should be thinking about this from a disaster perspective.”

According to the most recent Health Department figures, 7,020,862 cases of Covid-19 had been reported in Australia as of Tuesday afternoon, including 8,178 deaths and nearly 353,415 active cases.

In the previous 24 hours, 43,090 new Covid-19 cases had been reported.

About the author

Brendan Taylor

Brendan Taylor was a TV news producer for 5 and a half years. He is an experienced writer. Brendan covers Breaking News at Insider Paper.







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