Experts fear bumper flu season to hit millions of Australians
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Experts have warned that millions of Aussies could be hit by a bumper flu season as early as the start of summer.
Even though there has been a significant push to get COVID-19 jabs nationwide, only one-third of the population has managed to secure their seasonal influenza shot.
Due to the influenza virus not widely circulating during the pandemic, the herd immunity of the Australian population is at a concerningly low level. Health experts predict a surge of cases by January as the nation opens up to the rest of the world.
Many people have opted to focus on Covid vaccinations rather than flu shots. Photo from The Australian.
“Even responsible people have been so caught up in COVID that they have not bothered to get their (flu) vaccine this year,” said Immunisation expert Professor Robert Booy.
Pandemic protocols and the closing of borders has minimised the spread of the flu. Last year, there were just over 6,000 flu cases nationwide, an impressively low figure compared to the record in 2019, which had about 310,000 cases.
But Mr Booy expects that once the nation reopens, everything could change.
He reported that some GP and pharmacies are hesitant to order vaccines in bulk numbers after recorded wastage of up to 50 per cent in the past months.
The number of people who had their influenza jabs dropped from 18 million in 2020 to just 8.8 million as of November 1, 2021.
The flu variant changes often and vaccines are designed for specific variants. Photo from CNN.
Nigel McMillan, an expert in infectious diseases and immunology at Griffith University, highlighted the importance for certain groups, especially the elderly and those with medical conditions, to get vaccinated against the flu virus.
He said that even though the flu usually peaks around June or July, the opening of international borders will see the “winter viruses coming down here”.
“We had a very early season in 2019 when it started peaking in March; it really started to take off. If it were to happen that way again, you’d be looking to get your flu jabs in January or February but typically March or April.”
Mr McMillan observed that more people continue to wash their hands and sanitise, recognising it as one of the benefits of the recent pandemic.
“It will be interesting to see how the flu season goes in the Northern Hemisphere, they are going to be getting it kicked off pretty soon,” he said. “That will give us a clue as to what might be coming our way and what vaccine coverage we might need to have.”
You heard it here from two experts. Flu season is coming! So if you haven’t yet, you should consider getting the flu shot, but before doing so, always speak to your doctor to work out what’s best for you!
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