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Health officials fear a surge in flu cases and hospitalisations ahead of the Ekka will add further pressure to the state’s health system, as new data showed Queensland has the worst vaccination rates in the country.
Less than 28 per cent of Queenslanders are currently vaccinated against the flu, with the latest Queensland Health data showing 90 per cent of the nearly 44,000 cases this year were unvaccinated.
Of the nearly 4300 people hospitalised this year with the flu, 86 per cent were unvaccinated.
Queensland has the lowest rates of flu vaccination in the country. Credit: AP
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Catherine McDougall said cases and hospitalisations had steadily risen over recent weeks, with the highest number of flu cases (3,902) recorded in a single week for the year to date between July 21 and 27.
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“It’s concerning that less than 28 per cent (27.1 per cent or 1.65 million) of Queenslanders are vaccinated against flu,” McDougall said.
“Most people being hospitalised for flu currently are not vaccinated – and this is increasing demand on our hospitals.”
An average of 200 public hospital beds per day are currently occupied by flu patients, with almost half over the age of 65.
Queensland Health Director-General Dr David Rosengren told budget estimates on Friday Queensland’s vaccination rates were the lowest in the country.
This is despite $675,000 spent on advertising the state’s free flu vaccination program.
McDougall said Queenslanders can still receive a free flu vaccination from more than 2500 community immunisation providers across the state and urged anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated this year to consider doing so.
Director of the Centre for Immunology and Infection Control Professor Kirsten Spann echoed McDougall’s advice, particularly with the Brisbane Ekka, an event that attracted more than 340,000 visitors last year, fast approaching.
“The best thing that people can do is get a flu shot,” Spann said.
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“If you look at vaccine coverage in Queensland from 15 to 50-year-olds, it’s only 18 per cent – that’s really, really low. That’s not going to protect us as a community from getting infected.”
Spann said Queensland’s low vaccination uptake reflected wider trends, in particular a reduction in vaccine confidence post-COVID.
“We all learned through COVID that vaccines for these respiratory viruses, they may not necessarily stop you getting infected, they’re not completely bulletproof when it comes to totally blocking transmission.
“But they decrease how sick you feel [and] if we can boost the levels of vaccine coverage, we will reduce hospital admissions.”
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For those worried it’s too late to get vaccinated, or lulled by the upcoming change of season, Spann said the flu season is still continuing for another three months.
“It’s not too late to get vaccinated, that’s why Queensland Health run this flu program until the end of September,” she said.
“We’re on an upward trajectory, which will probably continue through until the end of winter, unless we can get it under control through improved vaccination rates.”
For the last two years, Queensland Health has run a clinic offering free influenza vaccines at the Ekka. The initiative will not return this year.
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