Queensland to fund free flu jabs for 2024 amid lack of national support

All Queenslanders will be able to access free flu jabs in the 2024 season under a $40m state government-funded intervention.

All Queenslanders will be able to access free flu jabs in 2024 under a $40m state government-funded intervention.

It will be the third year in a row Queensland will go it alone to get as much of the community protected against the flu as possible, with the Federal Government yet to heed calls to expand the national immunisation program to include influenza.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman confirmed the state government would spend $40m to ensure Queenslanders could access free flu jabs.

The start of the flu season is variable, though it usually kicks off in April.

The state government funded free flu jabs in 2022-23, although this year the initiative wasn’t announced until mid-July – partway through a horror flu season.

Outside of this program free flu vaccinations were available to at-risk people, including children aged six months to five years, pregnant women, people aged 65 and over, First Nations people and those with certain medical conditions.

The decision to fund free flu jabs next season comes amid fears over the dwindling uptake of vaccines in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Australian Immunisation Register data shows 155,187 children under the age of five were vaccinated against the flu in Queensland during the 2020 flu season but, as of 2023, this dwindled to 86,458.

Childhood vaccine coverage for one-year-olds and five- year-olds in Queensland has also fallen to levels last seen in 2016, though it remains higher than 93 per cent. It is generally accepted you need 95 per cent to achieve what is called “herd immunity”.

Prior to free flu jabs being announced in July, the number of Queenslanders getting vaccinated against the flu dropped 18.6 per cent compared to the year before.

Health experts have been calling for a “long-term” flu jab solution to get the yearly protection to as many people as possible, with initiatives to be backed with strong community messaging.

“Only a third of Queenslanders received annual influenza vaccinations this year, and nearly all diagnosed cases were people who had not been vaccinated, this is putting significant pressure on our emergency departments,” Ms Fentiman 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 National Immunisation Program and I’ll continue advocating for that.”

Chief health officer Dr John Gerard said the impact of the flu each year was substantial.

“Influenza causes disruption in households, schools and workplaces, increased demand on our health services, as well as severe disease and death,” he said. “Expanding access to flu vaccines has the potential to break the chain of transmission, so I encourage every Queenslander to take advantage of a free flu vaccination.”