Last call for free shots as Downs flu cases up

TOOWOOMBA residents are being urged to receive a free influenza shot as flu cases continue to rise in the Darling Downs.

The Queensland Government’s free flu vaccine program will end on Thursday after being introduced in May to combat the high peak of flu cases seen at the beginning of the influenza season.

Laboratory cases of influenza in the Darling Downs rose by 364 in the past week compared to 226 from the previous week.

The high number of influenza cases seen across the state at the moment are highly unusual, causing doctors to become worried at the implications of this year’s flu season.

Director of Public Health and Community Medicine Dr Liam Flynn said the spike in cases at the beginning of the traditional flu season meant healthcare professionals were unable to accurately predict the outcomes in the coming months.

“We are finding more cases earlier in the year in 2022, we have seen higher peaks in previous years and typically those peaks occur around late July and August,” Dr Flynn said.

“This year the fact that we are seeing so many cases so much earlier in the year has led to that campaign to make the flu vaccine free.

“What the year will look like ahead I don’t know, but we do know that the more people we have vaccinated the better the whole community is to prevent a future spike.”

Dr Flynn urged the Toowoomba community to make the most of the free flu shot while it was still available.

“The free flu vaccine for Queensland residents is still available for the next coming days, it ends on the 30th of June, so I would encourage everyone older than six months to go to your pharmacy, go to your GP and get free a flu shot,” Dr Flynn said.

“We know that influenza is not just a cold, it can cause otherwise healthy, well people to end up in intensive care, and it can be a very severe virus.

“We really encourage everyone to keep going and getting it, it will provide protection for the next few months, and it’s really well matched this year against the strains that we are seeing that are causing symptomatic disease.

“Our hospital system is under strain and we are seeing people admitted for Covid and for the flu.

“Both of these diseases are vaccine preventable, so the more people we can get vaccinated, the less of a burden we will have on the health system.”