Vax plea to tackle ‘flurona’

ALMOST half of the 35 Queenslanders who have contracted “flurona” since January 1 have been hospitalised, according to new research.

There have been 35 confirmed cases in Queensland of people infected with both the Covid-19 and the influenza viruses simultaneously, with 14 hospitalised since January 1 and those aged 19 and under and over 65 most susceptible.

As new data shows that children are being hit with flurona and ending up in hospital, doctors are calling for flu vaccines to be rolled out in the state’s schools to help stunt the spread of the dangerous dual infection.

“We can’t be complacent and think that just because coronavirus has not been hard on kids that the dual infection won’t come with serious health problems,” Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Queensland chairman Bruce Willett said.

“We already know that flu just by itself can kill kids.

“Flurona is the unknown, but what we do know is that the flu vaccine is not free for children over five, and that can be a deterrent to getting a protection jab.

“We understand that there is vaccine fatigue across Queensland, but if there was ever a year that people needed the flu vaccine, this is it and the schools could do their bit.”

Dr Willett said teenagers typically were the least keen to get a flu jab and were the biggest spreaders of the virus.

Currently, only 3 per cent of children under five have had their vaccine.

Dr Willett said he was surprised by the number of flurona cases so early in the influenza season.