WA influenza spike: Department of Health and Aged Care makes flu jab call amid fears season has hit early

Doctors are urging people to get the flu vaccine before winter with cases soaring over the past few months.

In the first two months of this year cases more than doubled compared with the same period last year — 2732 to 1062 — a 157 per cent increase.

And already in the first fortnight of March, 609 cases have been reported.

There were 683 cases in the whole month of March last year.

Peak flu season usually occurs from July to October.

A WA Health spokeswoman said WA was experiencing “higher inter-seasonal influenza notifications than expected at this time of the year”.

It comes amid a decline in the number of people getting the flu jab in WA in 2024. Last year, just 22 per cent of children aged six months to five years old were vaccinated, down more than 4 per cent from 2023.

Only 13 per cent of people between 5 and 15 had the flu jab — down more than five per cent — while 17 per cent of people aged 15-50 were vaccinated, a decrease of more than 4 per cent.

Those that were in the 50-65 age cohort had a drop of 8 per cent in vaccination uptake, with only 29 per cent getting the jab compared with 37 per cent in 2023.

National uptake of influenza vaccines has been continuously declining among all cohorts.

Only 58.5 per cent of those over 65 were vaccinated — a decrease of almost 6 per cent from 2023.

This week, the Department of Health and Aged Care sent an urgent message to health professionals across the country urging them to improve vaccine uptake, especially among children aged under five, pregnant women, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“As we approach the upcoming influenza season, it is important to recognise the critical role of annual vaccination in preventing influenza,” the notice read.

“National uptake of influenza vaccines has been continuously declining among all cohorts.”

The WA Health spokeswoman said the spike in flu cases reinforced “the importance of ensuring we achieve high vaccination rates in our community this winter, particularly among groups at increased risk of severe influenza illness.”

“Getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent serious influenza illness and hospitalisation,” she said.

For mum-of-two Imogen Myles, protecting her kids, Leo, 3 and Pia, 1, is a no-brainer.

“We definitely intend to vaccinate our kids,” she said.

“They both go to daycare so having them vaccinated is really important to protect them — there’s bugs everywhere at daycare.”

The Myles family have all been struck down with the flu at one point or another.

“It’s particularly hard to see your kids struggle with it,” she said.

“And it (the flu) definitely has less of an effect when you’re vaccinated.”

Ms Myles attributed the lack of vaccine uptake to after-effects from the pandemic.

“I think it’s a post-COVID pushback against the government mandates, being told what to do,” she said.

“People who wouldn’t think twice normally (pre-pandemic) are actively pushing back against being told to vaccinate.”

And she thinks it will take drastic consequences for those who have turned away from vaccines to have their minds changed again.

“I think it’s more of a lived experience thing . . . like having a loved one get sick, to change minds.”

Australia Medical Association president Michael Page held a similar sentiment, blaming a slip in vaccination rates on COVID fatigue.

“It is concerning the vaccination rates seem to be on the decline at the moment and hopefully it’s just a bit of post COVID fatigue from vaccinations,” he said.

“Maybe people will start to realise how important they are again over the next year or two and we’ll start to see those rates increase.”

The low vaccination rates also prompted the Pharmacy Guild to urge West Australians to get vaccinated against the flu.

“Influenza is a deadly disease and the most effective way to prevent against influenza is to get vaccinated so we urge all West Australians to do so,” Pharmacy Guild WA president Andrew Ngeow said.

“For those who aren’t vaccinated they just don’t have any coverage if they come in contact with it (the flu) and we have to take into account that influenza is not the common cold and it is deadly, so we have to do whatever we can to get vaccinated.”

WA Health is expected to announce when the 2025 free influenza vaccination rollout will be in a matter of weeks.

“The Department of Health will roll out the influenza vaccine as soon as it becomes available from the manufacturers,” a spokeswoman said.

WA Health urged the public to take steps to reduce spreading the virus if unwell including staying at home, practising good hand hygiene, and avoiding contact with people who are at increase risk.