Influenza can cause hospitalisation, particularly for vulnerable age groups such as children under the age of five. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Parents and carers have been urged to take advantage of free out-of-hours vaccination clinics to make sure their children are protected against serious illness from influenza.
ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said while some might believe the flu only caused mild, cold-like symptoms, it could be quite a serious illness, particularly for children under the age of five.
“[They] can get really sick with influenza, sometimes even needing hospitalisation, and sometimes unfortunately we do see people pass away with influenza,” she said.
“[Under fives’] bodies respond in a way [in which] they can get secondary bacterial infections and quite long hospitalisations.”
This is the second year pop-up clinics with free flu vaccines for children aged six months to five years have been made available in the ACT.
Vaccination uptake in this age group has been slower than average.
Canberra Health Services child and adolescent immunisation manager Louise Hawkins said special effort had been made to make it easier for young kids to get vaccinated.
“We’re aware that it can be difficult for families who have working parents to access our clinics.
“We’re just trying to increase our rates … and immunise as many children under five as much as possible.”
The clinics are open from Monday to Friday across Canberra, and Tuesday nights and Saturdays. The clinics will operate throughout May and June.
There has been concern from some pharmacy providers that the flu vaccine hasn’t been available when needed.
Dr Coleman said this wasn’t a supply issue but rather a distribution hiccup.
“Sometimes what we see is a little bit of a mismatch between the demand at a particular location and when the next supply delivery is made,” she said.
“So please bear with us, have some patience, we’re doing the best we can, and that pharmacy or location will get their next order of vaccine [for you] to go in and get your vaccination.”
She explained vaccines also couldn’t just be shared between pharmacies and GP clinics due to guidelines around vaccine storage.
“They have to stay in the fridge at that particular location and they have to be used from that location.”
Outside of receiving a vaccine, there are plenty of everyday steps people can take to protect themselves and loved ones from serious respiratory illness.
Dr Coleman said the hygiene messages from the COVID-19 pandemic were still relevant.
“Please make sure you wash your hands, don’t cough and splutter everywhere and over everyone, use your hand to cover your mouth, or the crook of your elbow,” she said.
But most of all, she urged people to get vaccinated.
“We’ve had some tough seasons, haven’t we, with influenza and I think what I’d like to encourage everyone to do is help us take the pressure [of the flu] off the health system this year. Having a vaccine is the simplest and most effective way we can reduce the likelihood of severe illness,” Dr Coleman said.
“We don’t want anybody in hospital with the flu if we can avoid it.”
Walk-ins at the pop-up clinics are welcome but bookings are recommended. Bookings can be made through myDHR or by calling (02) 5124 9977. Clinic locations and times can be found online.
The influenza vaccine is free for some demographics under the National Immunisation Program, although some providers may charge an administration fee.
