Queensland is calling for the rest of Australia to follow its move to make flu vaccines free for all as the state battles the highest infection rate in the country.
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Health experts around the nation are pleading with people to get vaccinated as rates of infections soar and the more severe B strain takes hold.
Warnings about the risk of the flu to children hit home when an 11-year-old girl died on the Sunshine Coast this month after contracting the flu.
The tragedy followed reports of the death of a student on the NSW Central Coast.
The expanded program in Queensland will run from Saturday until the end of August and those with appointments scheduled for this week will qualify for a free jab.
Western Australia implemented a free influenza vaccine program in May and June, while other states and territories provide complimentary jabs for at-risk groups.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the B strain was particularly severe and experts had warned of low vaccination rates in Queensland.
The government previously made them free for Queenslanders aged over six months until June 30 last year.
"I don't want there to be any barriers to getting the flu jab, which is why I am reinstating free flu vaccinations for all Queenslanders," the premier said on Monday.
"If you are sick please stay at home, that includes children going to school."
The government's announcement came after Health Minister Shannon Fentiman met health chiefs on Monday, including from the Australian Medical Association and Royal College of General Practitioners, to work out ways to combat this year's flu season.
"Ideally we want to see the flu vaccination free for everyone, every year, as part of the national immunisation program and I'll be raising this with my state and federal counterparts at the national health minister meeting later this week," Ms Fentiman said.
She said it was alarming that about half of the people hospitalised with influenza B this season had been under 20.
Queensland has recorded more than 51,400 cases of influenza this year, compared with fewer than 44,450 cases in 2022, and 56 deaths.
The latest Australian Influenza Surveillance Report shows Queensland has 896 flu notifications per 100,000 people this year, which is the highest rate in the country, followed by the Northern Territory with 691 and NSW with 625.
Since the start of July in Queensland, almost 80 children aged between six months and four years were hospitalised with the flu, 50 with the B strain and only one who was vaccinated.
Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said he was very concerned about the increase in cases and high rate of unvaccinated patients, especially as school resumed and the peak of winter approached.
Influenza B, which has overtaken influenza A as the dominant strain, was associated with more severe disease in children, many of whom had not been exposed to influenza because of COVID-19 restrictions in the past three years, Dr Gerrard said.
"It is equally important for pregnant women to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their babies," he said.
AMA Queensland president Maria Boulton said this year's season was "very, very serious" and it was imperative that people over six months old were vaccinated.
"We are particularly concerned about vulnerable people, so children, those people over the age of 65, people with chronic conditions such as lung conditions such as asthma, also pregnant women, please please make a booking," Dr Boulton said.
The Palaszczuk government will cover the estimated $5 million to $10 million cost of the expanded program, which will provide vaccines for many who do not fall within the national immunisation program.
Vaccines are already free for certain groups in Queensland including children five and under and adults over 65.
Australian Associated Press
