Illawarra residents are being urged to ring ahead for a flu shot at their GP or medical centre, with a shortage of the potentially life-saving vaccine due to unprecedented demand.
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Vaccines are being rationed out to practices and pharmacies across the region – and nationwide – due to the shortage.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant told the Mercury that the horror flu season in 2017 – plus increased awareness about the flu shot – had led to high demand.
NSW Health had already distributed almost two million doses of state and national program influenza vaccines, around half a million more than in 2017.
Flu shots are available for free under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) to pregnant women and people who are over 65, Aboriginal or have medical conditions such as severe asthma, diabetes and heart problems.
“All vaccine supplies for adults under the NIP are constrained at this point,” Dr Chant said. “As a precaution, we’re restricting the quantities of vaccines we’re distributing to GPs, so are advising anyone who is yet to have the vaccine to call ahead to their GP.”
The NSW Government is also providing free vaccines for children up to five years old this year, and Dr Chant stressed that the supply of this vaccine was not affected.
She also said that the number of flu cases remained low in NSW this year, and there was no indication of an early start to the flu season.
There’s been 117 confirmed cases of flu in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District so far in 2018 – compared to 204 for the same period in 2017. It was the worst year on record for the district with 4897 confirmed cases – 2374 in August alone. That compared to 1253 cases for the whole of 2016.
The district has been rolling out a range of preventative measures ahead of this winter, including awareness campaigns around hygiene.
Dr Chant said the NSW Government was working closely with the Commonwealth to ease the shortage, with additional supplies expected from overseas within a fortnight.
However Labor’s health spokesman Walt Secord said the state government had “bungled” the flu shot roll-out.
“It is mind boggling that the Berejiklian Government would be encouraging patients to seek out the government-funded free flu vaccines, but then failing to ensure there is enough of the vaccine,” he said.
“This is about protecting the most vulnerable in the community and avoiding a repeat of last year’s deadly flu season.”