It’s Too Early For Australian Flu Shots

If you are traveling to Australia, should you get a flu shot?

Down-under in Australia, the peak flu season occurs during August every year. 

This is because the Southern Hemisphere's winter season is the inverse of North America, where the peak flu month is usually February, reports the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

But, before getting your next influenza vaccination, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) is urging people to hold off, saying it is too early.

The AMA's president Dr. Michael Gannon said the timing of the flu shot is important to maximize immunization.

"People who are vaccinated too early in autumn might have lost protection by late in the spring," he said to ABC news.

"Remember why you need to have a vaccine every year is the influenza virus rapidly and quickly mutates. It will be appropriate for some patients to defer having their flu shot until well into April," Dr. Gannon said.

In response to Dr. Gannon’s remarks, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s West Australian Branch issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to working with the State’s Department of Health to maximize the uptake of flu vaccinations among all age groups, particularly the vulnerable and those most at risk.

The Guild said it endorses the department’s guidelines in respect to getting the flu vaccination and “always encouraged its members to follow the clinical guidance of regulatory authorities”.

“The Pharmacy Guild has a network of community pharmacies that safely delivered some 85,000 immunizations last year.”

The majority (93 percent) of Australian adults recognize the benefits of flu vaccination in pharmacy, citing access, cost, and convenience as the biggest motivators for protecting against seasonal influenza.

But, a recent poll by the Pharmacy Guild reported that only 45 percent of Australians are planning to get the flu shot during 2018.

Additionally, the Pharmacy Guild has warned that official figures already point to a potentially severe upcoming flu season.

The Federal Department of Health has already recorded more than 9,000 laboratory-confirmed flu cases since January 1, 2018.

In the USA, as of late March 2018, widespread influenza activity was reported by 17 states: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin.  

During the 2017-2018 flu season in the USA, vaccination effectiveness (VE) was reported to be just 36 percent effective.

But, a recent study concluded that repeated influenza vaccination was 2x as effective in preventing severe influenza compared with nonsevere influenza in hospitalized older patients, reinforcing recommendations for annual vaccination.

Flu vaccines are still available at most pharmacies, offering several FDA approved flu vaccines.

The CDC Vaccine Price List provides the private sector prices for general information.

Flu vaccine discounts can be found here.

Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects, says the CDC. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of vaccines to the FDA or CDC.