A four-year-old girl is one of 72 Queenslanders who’ve died from the flu so far this year with experts warning the worst is yet to come.
Records show 4,162 Queenslanders have been hospitalised with the flu since January – smashing the number of hospitalisations throughout all of 2019 by 1,000.
The uptick has been attributed to vaccine hesitancy following the Covid pandemic.
Only 10 per cent of the number of patients hospitalised have received their flu vaccine – despite the state government making them free.
Of the 72 deaths recorded so far, 13 were aged between 40 to 64 while 58 were over the age of 65.
The four-year-old girl was the only child death recorded, with 670 children hospitalised with the flu.
The remaining hospitalisations included 1,584 adults aged 18 to 65 and 1,908 elderly people.
Only 1,686,800 Queenslanders over the age of six months have received their flu vaccination, about 30 per cent of the eligible population.
The state’s health minister Shannon Fentiman urged Queenslanders to get their free flu vaccinations with the shots even available at Brisbane’s Ekka show.
Queensland’s flu outbreak has claimed the life of a four-year-old girl and 71 others
The state’s health minister Shannon Fentiman (pictured) urged Queenslanders to get their free flu vaccinations
Queensland is the only Australian state to offer free flu vaccinations yet only 28 per cent of the population have gotten the jab.
The program has cost taxpayers $47million over the last two years.
Ms Fentiman warned the state is ‘potentially weeks away from seeing the worst of the flu season’.
‘I’m asking all Queenslanders to please get your free flu jab’ she said on Sunday.
‘No one wants to see their child or loved one hospitalised, and we know that vaccination makes a huge difference when it comes to the risk of being hospitalised with flu.
‘This doubling of hospitalisations is concerning for our smallest Queenslanders and I am asking parents across the state, please vaccinated yourself and your kids.’
Ms Fentiman said the vaccine was made free after two ‘terrible flu seasons’ in 2022 and 2023.
‘You can get your free flu vaccination at the chemist, at your GP, and even at the Ekka,’ she said.
Only 1,686,800 Queenslanders over the age of six months old have received their flu vaccination, about 30 per cent of the eligible population
Records show 4,162 Queenslanders have been hospitalised with the flu since January with the uptick attributed to vaccine hesitancy following the Covid pandemic
Premier Steven Mile said it was ‘very concerning’ to see the sharp rise in children hospitalised by the flu.
‘It is absolutely critical that everyone who can gets their flu shot, to help protect the most vulnerable people in our community,’ he said.
‘That’s why we have made the flu vaccine free, so cost isn’t a barrier to staying safe and healthy.’
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