{"id":318559,"date":"2022-05-23T14:44:08","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T04:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=318559"},"modified":"2022-05-23T14:45:40","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T04:45:40","slug":"free-flu-vax-as-cases-soar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/05\/23\/free-flu-vax-as-cases-soar\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Flu Vax As Cases Soar"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 23, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

The State Government is offering all Queenslanders a free flu vaccination as the State faces a severe outbreak of Influenza A.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 measures had reduced flu cases to almost nil since 2020 but more than 4000 cases have been reported so far in 2022.<\/p>\n

Cases in Queensland are doubling every week, increasing from 1848 to 4282 in the past seven days.<\/p>\n

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had taken the unprecedented decision to protect Queenslanders because:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Influenza A is predominantly a virus impacting young and old age groups more than others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • Vaccine rates and immunity levels are low<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
      • Case numbers are climbing faster and earlier than expected<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Most importantly all of the impacts of COVID-19 including absenteeism, interruptions to supply chains and health services will be duplicated and exacerbated by a simultaneous outbreak of Influenza A.<\/p>\n

        \u201cWe have seen how difficult it has been to fight COVID-19,\u201d the Premier said.<\/p>\n

        \u201cTo fight COVID-19 and the flu is doubly hard. That\u2019s why we are making these flu shots free for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Peter Aitken said time was of the essence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \u201cInfluenza A is more severe than Influenza B,\u201d Dr Aitken said.<\/p>\n

        \u201cIt leads to greater numbers needing to go to hospital.<\/p>\n

        \u201cVaccination rates for children six months to less than five years of age is just 6 per cent.<\/p>\n

        \u201cI urge parents of all age groups to please take up this offer of a free vaccine.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Health Minister Yvette D\u2019Ath said free vaccines would be available for all Queenslanders aged six months and older.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \u201cFlu vaccines are generally not free except for the most vulnerable,\u201d the Minister said.<\/p>\n

        \u201cOur 2017 (flu) season saw more than 750 people in intensive care and our 2019 season saw about 300 people<\/p>\n

        \u201cThe fact that more than 4000 cases have already been detected when flu seasons don\u2019t usually begin until late July is very concerning.<\/p>\n

        \u201cOur best defence is to get as many people vaccinated as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

        The Minister also thanked the professional pharmacy and medical bodies for backing this initiative and asked all Queenslanders to be patient and kind to the healthcare providers as this initiative was rolled out across the State.<\/p>\n

        The vaccines will be available free from GPs and pharmacies from now until the end of June.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        All Queenslanders should speak with their local GP or pharmacist to see which vaccine is available to them.<\/p>\n

        There are no changes for people already eligible under the National Immunisation program. People eligible under the National Immunisation Program should continue to access influenza vaccine from their usual vaccination providers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The State Government is offering all Queenslanders a free flu vaccination as the State faces a severe outbreak of Influenza A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":176863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[172,3],"tags":[1551],"yoast_head":"\nFree Flu Vax As Cases Soar - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The State Government is offering all Queenslanders a free flu vaccination as the State faces a severe outbreak of Influenza A.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/05\/23\/free-flu-vax-as-cases-soar\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Free Flu Vax As Cases Soar - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The State Government is offering all Queenslanders a free flu vaccination as the State faces a severe outbreak of Influenza A.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/05\/23\/free-flu-vax-as-cases-soar\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-23T04:44:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-23T04:45:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/palaszczuk-f.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/05\/23\/free-flu-vax-as-cases-soar\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/05\/23\/free-flu-vax-as-cases-soar\/\",\"name\":\"Free Flu Vax As Cases Soar - 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