Queensland urges flu vaccination as record-breaking season looms

Queensland is bracing for a record-breaking flu season, with a Mater Hospital professor urging pregnant women and parents of young children to get vaccinated before the virus explodes.

A Mater Hospital professor has predicted a record-breaking flu season and has warned parents and pregnant women of the flu dangers.

Queensland is bracing for what is expected to be a record-breaking flu season, with health professionals issuing an urgent call for parents and pregnant women to get vaccinated this month.

With flu cases already on the rise across the state, the state government has introduced free flu vaccinations for all residents aged over six months, setting it apart from other states and territories that only offered free flu shots to at-risk groups under the federal government’s National Immunisation Program.

Queensland health experts are concerned about the early circulation of the virus, which is arriving before the official flu season begins this month and typically runs until October.

Last year, there were 365,000 confirmed flu cases across the country, the highest number ever recorded, and tragically, 500 Australians lost their lives to the disease.

The situation this year has been exacerbated by alarmingly low vaccination rates and coincides with doctors in regional areas complaining that they were unable to order the vaccine before April 7.

Doctors in southeast Queensland have lodged complaints that they are unable to order the flu vaccine until April 7.

Mater Hospital Brisbane director of infectious diseases Professor Paul Griffin said the decline in flu vaccination coverage posed a significant threat to vulnerable groups, including young children and pregnant women.

Professor Griffin said the virus was already spreading in the community, making it all the more concerning that vaccination rates remained so low.

“The flu season hasn’t officially started, but we are already seeing high levels of flu in the community,” he warned.

“Flu is a serious illness, but the vaccines are safe and effective.

“Every year, we see people, particularly young people and pregnant women, who end up in hospital when they could have been protected with a simple vaccination.

“Many people wrongly assume the flu only affects older adults, like COVID-19, but this isn’t the case.”

Flu vaccination rates in the Sunshine State have fallen to the lowest level in the country.

Despite the risks, fewer than half of parents of children under five are aware that flu vaccination is recommended for this age group.

Health experts have attributed the decline in flu vaccinations to “vaccine fatigue” following the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the spread of misinformation about vaccines, particularly on social media.

In Queensland, only 22 per cent of children aged six months to five years received the flu vaccine in 2024, the lowest rate in the country, alongside Western Australia.

The Australian Capital Territory reported the highest coverage at 48 per cent with Victoria recording a 30 per cent vaccination rate and Tasmania 29 per cent.

Eagleby Dr Thomas Lyons blamed the slow take-up of the vaccination on the state government delaying GPs from ordering the vaccine until April 7, which he said was unfair to GPs and could have serious consequences for vulnerable patients.

Logan GP Dr Thomas Lyons has lodged a complaint that he is unable to order the flu vaccine before April 7, despite the state government advertising the free injections.

Dr Lyons said it was misleading for Queensland Health to begin advertising this year’s $25 million free flu vaccination program on March 1 when most GPs could not order the vaccine.

Professor Griffin said the statistic showed the urgency of improving vaccination rates, especially in light of rising flu cases.

The Queensland Health Department reported 8988 confirmed flu cases in the first quarter of 2024, a 24 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

Among these cases, 770 were children under the age of five.

A recent survey by the Immunisation Coalition, found 73 per cent of GPs and nurses believed that misinformation was a significant barrier to improving vaccination rates.

To find where to get vaccinated go to: visit healthdirect.gov.au/flu.

Originally published as Queensland urges flu vaccination as record-breaking season looms