Fraser Coast residents offered free flu shots as virus spreads

Influenza vaccines are set to become free across Queensland for a limited time in an effort to combat surging flu cases across the state with one Wide Bay doctor saying transmission rates were high.

Wide Bay residents are being offered the chance for free flu vaccinations as Queensland battles through an especially bad year for the virus.

The initiative, which will last until August 31, aimed to combat a surge in virus numbers in the state.

Of the 149,989 cases reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System this year, 47,670 have occurred in Queensland.

The state’s infection rate of 896 cases per 100,000 people is the highest in the nation.

The Wide Bay has recorded 1991 infections and Dr Margaret Young believed numbers are likely to be even higher when unreported cases are taken into account.

Dr Young said there were “high transmission rates in the Wide Bay area” and stressed the importance of high vaccination rates in protecting the community.

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“Only about one-third of Wide Bay residents have been vaccinated against influenza,” Dr Young said, adding the low vaccination rate of the previous year has led to more frequent case numbers in the first seven months of this year.

Influenza rates across Queensland are the highest in the nation and Wide Bay is experiencing high case numbers across the region.

“Vaccination is a well-proven, safe and effective way to protect against influenza,” Dr Young said.

The free vaccine can be accessed at general practitioners and pharmacies across the state and is available free of charge until the 31st of August.

Originally published as Fraser Coast residents offered free flu shots as virus spreads