Flu rates prompt warning

Forest Lake’s most at-risk residents are being urged to take advantage of free influenza shots this month as diagnosis and hospitalisation rates soar among unvaccinated people.
Locals aged 65 or older, between 6 months and 5 years old, pregnant, or immunocompromised are eligible for a free flu vaccine at Forest Lake’s Community Hall from 9am every second Friday.
This immunisation clinic initiative run by Brisbane City Council is a different program to Queensland’s state-wide vaccine program, where residents, regardless of their Medicare eligibility, can get a free flu vaccine until 30 September 2025.
So far this year, 53,572 people have been diagnosed with the flu, 88% of whom were unvaccinated, according to the most recent Queensland Health data.
On 10 August, Metro South Health reported that 63 people were hospitalised with the flu, and recorded 1333 cases of the flu across the week ending Sunday 10 August.
Brisbane council’s immunisation program has been running in facilities across the LGA since 1931, and aims to increase access to vaccines for residents, a spokesperson for the council said.
“In the last financial year, more than 6900 residents across Brisbane received vaccinations through the program.
“The clinic offers vaccines listed as part of the National Immunisation Program Schedule and has the capacity to see around 60 people a month.”
People aged 65 or older and children under five years old are particularly vulnerable to severe illness, Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Catherine McDougall said in a media statement.
“Around 47 per cent of hospitalisations are among people aged 65 and over,” she said.
“Vaccination is especially important for anyone aged over 65 and children aged under five – both these cohorts are vulnerable to severe illness from the flu.”
In Queensland, only 16.1% of children aged 6 months to 5 years have been vaccinated against the flu, the lowest rate in the country, according to data from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance Australia.
“It’s concerning that less than 28%t (27.1% or 1.65 million) of Queenslanders are vaccinated against flu,” Dr McDougall said.
“Most people being hospitalised for flu currently are not vaccinated – and this is increasing demand on our hospitals,” the chief health officer said.