NSW will expand its flu-free vaccine program until mid-July to encourage millions who have not yet received a vaccine to show up, as cases continue to show up in hospitals.
Free vaccines will be available at GPs and pharmacies until July 17. Health Minister Brad Hazzard has urged parents to get their children vaccinated during the school holidays.
“It’s really worrying that a little over 18% of kids and teens have had a flu shot; and for children six months to five years old, the figure is 25 percent, ”Hazzard said.
The state had a record number of flu infections in June, due to an earlier-than-usual flu season and increased testing. PCR testing for COVID-19 also yielded results for other respiratory viruses.
In June, NSW teamed up in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania to fund free flu vaccines for people aged five to 64, who were not eligible for a free federal government vaccine.
But the latest data shows that on Sunday, only 29 per cent of NSW residents in this age group were vaccinated, after some 600,000 people applied for a vaccine in June.
Vaccinations were already free for children six months to five years of age, those over 65 (of whom about three-quarters are vaccinated) and other at-risk groups, under the federal government program.
No municipal area has a flu vaccination rate above 50%, but health authorities are especially concerned about coverage in west and south-west Sydney. Only 25% of Canterbury-Bankstown and Fairfield residents were vaccinated, compared to more than 40% in Ku-ring-gay, Hornsby and Hunters Hill.