TRANSCRIPT
Every year, from April to September, it's influenza season - when there is an increase in cases of what's commonly called the flu.
The highly contagious virus can affect anyone of any age, and while it can be mild for some people, for others it can be a severe illness that results in hospitalisation - or even death.
Professor Patrick Reading works with one of five World Health Organisation centres in the world that tracks influenza and its evolving sub-types each year.
He says so far this year, 63,000 cases of influenza have been recorded in Australia.
"In Australia, we've seen increased influenza activity in all (health) jurisdictions in early 2025 when compared to previous years. Despite the increased influenza activity, we can't currently protect the severity of the upcoming season in Australia. This will be dependent on a range of factors (including) which virus sub-type becomes dominant."
In 2024, there were 1,002 deaths involving influenza - a 67.7 per cent increase on the 12 months prior.
That is why all people aged 6 months and over are recommended to receive an annual influenza vaccine that is updated every year to respond to the evolving sub-types of influenza circulating in the community.
Last year's influenza season in Australia saw the number of laboratory-confirmed cases reach the highest annual level ever recorded.
Professor Paul Griffin is director of infectious diseases at Mater Health Services in Brisbane.
He says the impacts of influenza outbreaks on the community are often underestimated. "We know that there are deaths in the order of thousands; hospitalisations - around 20,000 every year. Hundreds of thousands of doctors' visits. And there are quite a lot of financial implications, in terms of lost work days. It can be infectious for quite a long time. So even before symptoms appear, potentially; and then even for up to a week thereafter. So it can be quite easy to transmit. And it is very clear that children contribute very much to the spread. Both because they shed more virus - but also because it is a bit harder to get them to do the hygiene things that we ask of them."
He says vaccination remains the most important way of reducing the risk of catching the flu this season, but other measures that can be adopted include hand hygiene, masks, improved air quality and ventilation.
If you do get flu-like symptoms, getting a timely rapid antigen test can pinpoint which virus you have, which can then lead to specific advice on treatment.
Professor Julie Leask is a public health researcher at the University of Sydney who studies attitudes towards vaccination.
She says extensive research has shown the influenza vaccine is effective.
But its impact on the individual will depend on: the age and health of the person receiving it, and the match between the vaccine and the particular influenza sub-type caught by the person.
"So people will often think: 'oh, I've got the flu. Oh, I had a vaccine - and it didn't stop me from getting the flu.' Well, actually it was probably the case that you got another virus (not influenza) - that that flu vaccine couldn't have prevented because it is an entirely separate virus that doesn't have a vaccine for it. Such as adenovirus or rhinovirus, which are a couple of other viruses. Flu has a bit of a personality problem because people think that any old virus the get is flu and therefore, you know if it is mild, it's just the flu. They tend to diminish the potential seriousness of it."
To encourage Australians to get the updated annual flu vaccine, the federal government subsidises the cost to make it free for certain groups in the population who are deemed to have a higher risk of severe illness.
These groups include: children aged 6 months to 5 years; pregnant women; and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 6 months and over.
Some states, like Queensland, have funded a free flu vaccination program for all state residents, including international students.
A number of workplaces are also subsidising the cost of the vaccine for their employees to reduce absenteeism.
Vaccine uptake as of the 4th of May is highest for those aged 65 years and over at 35 per cent, according to the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance]].
It's 14.1 per cent for those between 50- and 64 years of age.
For every other age group it's less than 10 per cent.
Dr Leask says making the flu vaccine free more broadly would increase uptake - but that is a cost decision to weigh up for the federal, state and territory governments.
"So whenever a particular group is offered a free vaccine, you will see the uptake increase. Reducing out-of-pocket costs, whether it be the vaccine itself or the service that is used to deliver the vaccine - that will also improve uptake in entire populations. Whether that means that it should therefore be free for all age groups is a matter for our very well-established systems in Australia - the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, who assess vaccination to see if offering them to everybody is going to be cost-effective at a population level. And also, for anything to even be considered on that pharmaceutical advisory committee, it needs to be presented to the community by what's called a sponsor. Which is usually the company who make the vaccine - an industry sponsor. Or some other group - such as a group of researchers."
And on the issue of whether vaccine hesitancy is playing a role in the uptake of the influenza vaccine this year, Professor Leask says that is an area that will require further study.
"We know that for childhood vaccinations (for influenza) there is every so slightly more hesitancy since than before the (COVID-19) pandemic. So there is probably a little bit of hesitancy out there. But we must remember that it is not just hesitancy that is a barrier to people vaccinating. It's also access to free convenient services and systems that really work for people. Where you bring the vaccines to the people, where you remind them, where you encourage them."
