Parents in South Australia have been urged to vaccinate their children against the flu on the same day that a bombing of COVID-19 vaccination began in state schools.
Key points:
- About half of the flu cases this year are in children
- No decision has been made on the free flu vaccine for everyone
- A program of COVID-19 vaccination clinics has been started in schools
But the state health minister says no decision has yet been made on free flu shots for everyone.
Public health director Nicola Spurrier said there had been 1,195 flu cases in South Australia this year, compared to 12 at the same time in 2021.
In 2019, there were about 13,000 cases in May.
So far this year, 126 people have been hospitalized with the flu.
About 45 percent of flu cases this year were in people 18 and under, Professor Spurrier said.
With only 10.6 percent of children under the age of five vaccinated, even though the blow was free for this age group, Professor Spurrier urged parents to inoculate their offspring.
“At this time of our flu season, it’s the little ones, the kids, who are catching the flu and passing it on, so parents, if you’ve had a lot of illness in your family with your kids, this is One reason is that our young people are transmitting a lot of flu, “he said.
Health Minister Chris Picton and Public Health Director Nicola Spurrier are opening the Playford Primary School Clinic. (ABC News)
Queensland announced Monday that the flu vaccine would be free for people six years of age and older.
South Australian Health Minister Chris Picton said no local decision had been made.
“This is definitely something we’ve been looking at for the last few days since Queensland made its announcement,” he said.
“We are doing this work very quickly and we will have more to say soon.”
The school immunization center program begins
A COVID-19 vaccination concentration program begins today in 40 schools in South Australia.
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Every Friday for the next four weeks, 10 elementary schools will have an on-site vaccination clinic for students and parents.
Schools will then become a community clinic on Saturday.
Vaccine clinics will also be offered at locations across the state for Community Vaccination Day tomorrow.
SA Health said yesterday that 59.6% of children aged 5 to 11 had received their first vaccination and 42.7% of the same age group had received their second vaccination.
Professor Spurrier said children aged 5 to 15 who were not vaccinated against COVID-19 were 30% more likely to be hospitalized than those who had received their vaccines.
“As a community, it is very important that children receive these vaccines against COVID-19,” he said.
SA Health today reported 3,169 new cases of COVID-19, along with the death of a woman in her 80s.
A total of 226 are hospitalized, of which 10 are in intensive care.
Just under 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state yesterday and Wednesday, bringing the total in South Australia since the start of the pandemic to more than 500,000.
Security to keep schools safe
Yesterday, a small group of protesters gathered in front of one of the schools where vaccination centers were to begin today: Grange Elementary School, west of Adelaide.
Department of Education Executive Director Martin Westwell said security guards had been set up outside all school clinics, even before the protest.
“We want to protect our students, we want to protect our teachers and we want to make sure that learning can continue in a meaningful way, so we are absolutely committed to making sure we can vaccinate our school communities,” he said. to say. .
Amelia Packer, 10, was one of the first children under 12 to be vaccinated in January. (ABC News)
Professor Spurrier said it was not a “suitable place” for a protest.
“Students may be scared, they don’t understand what’s going on, and with the recent events in the U.S. in schools, I think it’s important for all students in the school to feel like they’re in a safe environment, so no I don’t support this kind of activity in a school, “he said.
Two public primary schools, Highbury and Heathfield, are on “switch” online learning days, while four Adelaide secondary schools are doing a mix of online and face-to-face learning.
Students from 7 to 12 years old no longer have to wear masks from Monday, although they are still highly recommended.
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