ACT Health has issued a call to Canberra’s parents to ensure they have their children vaccinated against the deadly strain of influenza being found around the country.
The move has been prompted by indications of a slower uptake in the number of under-fives getting the free flu jab this year.
ACT Public Health Physician, Dr Vanessa Johnston said the community could not become complacent with vaccination if it wanted to avoid a horror flu season.
“Everyone remembers the horrendous flu season of 2017,” Dr Johnston said.
“As we are already seeing a higher than usual number of cases of influenza so far this year, we are reminding the community of the importance of vaccination to protect themselves and their families from getting sick.”
She said the ACT Health Protection Service (HPS) and the Education Directorate were working closely with Namadgi School on the Southside of Canberra, where a number of students and staff had reportedly become unwell with an influenza-like illness.
“ACT Health is gathering more information to determine if the cause of these illnesses is indeed the flu or another respiratory virus,” Dr Johnston said.
“All parents who have children aged six months to under five years are being urged to take advantage of the free flu jab.”
She said ACT Health was seeing early signs of a slower uptake in the number of children under five receiving the free ACT Government-funded flu shot.
“We are hearing from our Early Childhood Immunisation Clinics that there is less demand for the vaccine compared to the same time last year,” Dr Johnston said.
“Young children are at a higher risk of serious complications from influenza, such as pneumonia. They are also more likely to spread the flu to others.”
She said having children immunised also reduced the potential to spread the illness to other vulnerable members of the family, such as grandparents.
