Too many Australians aren’t getting a flu vaccine. Why, and what can we do about it?

Australia’s childhood immunisation program gets excellent uptake yearly – almost 94% of five-year-olds have had all their routine vaccinations. But our influenza vaccine coverage doesn’t get such a very good report card.

Looking back over recent yearsfor teenagers aged six months to 5 years, we saw a peak in flu vaccine coverage originally of the COVID pandemic at 46%, which then declined to 30% by the 2023 season.

While we’re still relatively early within the 2024 flu season, only 7% of kids under five have received their flu shot this 12 months to date.

Although young children are a selected concern, flu vaccination rates look like lagging for the population as a complete. Reports indicate that from March 1 to April 2816% fewer people were vaccinated against the flu compared with the identical period last 12 months.

So what’s happening, and what can we do to spice up uptake?

Why will we vaccinate kids against the flu?

Last 12 months, reported cases of flu were highest in children aged five to nine, followed by those aged zero to 4. This will not be a brand new trend – we record a high variety of flu cases and hospital admissions in kids yearly. So far this 12 months children aged zero to 4 have had the best variety of infections, marginally ahead of five- to nine-year-olds.

While kids usually tend to catch and spread the flu, they’re also at greater risk of getting very sick from it. This particularly applies to children under five, and the flu vaccine is accessible at no cost for this age group.

The flu vaccine isn’t perfect – it might not prevent infections entirely – but it surely’s definitely our greatest likelihood of protection. Research has shown influenza-related visits to the GP were greater than halved in vaccinated children compared with unvaccinated children.

So why are kids not receiving the vaccine?

Often, it comes right down to misunderstandings about who’s eligible for the vaccine or whom it’s advisable for. But we are able to address this issue by nudging people via a text message reminder.

Some parents report concerns in regards to the vaccine, including the old dogma that it could possibly cause the flu. The flu vaccine can’t provide you with the flu since it doesn’t contain live virus. Unfortunately, that myth is actually sticky.

For some parentsthe challenge could be forgetting to book or accessing an appointment.

It’s not only kids at higher risk

Adults aged 65 and over are also more vulnerable to the flu, and might receive a free vaccine. For this group, we often get around 65% vaccinated. So far this 12 months, around 35% of over-65s have received their flu vaccine.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals are likewise eligible for a free flu vaccine. While previously coverage rates were higher amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in comparison with the general population, this gap has narrowed. There’s even some movement backwards, especially in younger age groups.

The flu vaccine can be free for pregnant women and anyone who has a medical condition similar to heart disease, chronic lung disease, diabetes or kidney disease.

Past studies have found flu vaccine coverage for pregnant women varies across the country from 39% to 76% (meaning in some jurisdictions as much as 60% of pregnant women usually are not getting vaccinated). When it involves adults with chronic health conditions, we don’t have a very good sense of how many individuals receive the vaccine.

The reasons adults don’t at all times get the flu vaccine overlap with the explanations for kids. Often concerns about uncomfortable side effects are cited as the explanation for not getting vaccinated, followed by time constraints.

We also know accessing medical services could be difficult for some people, similar to those living in rural areas or experiencing financial hardship.

Filling the gaps

In Australia, GPs offer flu vaccines for all ages, while flu vaccination can be available at pharmacies, generally from age five and up.

While some people make a conscious decision to not get themselves or their children vaccinated, for many individuals, the barriers are related to access.

Programs offering vaccination outside the doctor’s office are increasing globally, and should assist in filling gapsespecially amongst those that don’t have regular access to a GP.

For some people, their only point of contact with the medical system could also be during emergency department visits. Others could have more regular contact with a specialist who coordinates their medical care, moderately than a GP.

Offering vaccine education and programs in these settings has been shown to enhance immunisation rates and should play a pivotal role in filling access gaps.

Outside medical and pharmacy settings, the workplace is essentially the most common place for Australian adults to receive their flu vaccine. A survey showed Australian adults find workplace vaccination convenient and cost-effective, especially where free or subsidised vaccines are offered.

Expanding vaccination settings, similar to with drive-through and mobile clinics, can profit groups who’ve unique access barriers or are under-served. Meanwhile, offering vaccination through faith-based organisations has been shown to enhance uptake amongst racial and ethnic minority groups.

Eleftheria Lentakis, a masters student on the School of Population Health at UNSW Sydney, contributed to this text.