Vaccine not to be sneezed at as flu season approaches

Australians are heading into a potentially severe flu season and given last year's death toll, experts are warning it's important to be vaccinated.

Flu-related mortalities reached 1700 in 2025, surpassing the national road death toll by several hundred.

And despite this year's peak winter flu season having not yet started, some 29,300 cases have already been recorded.

"People always say to you, 'I had no idea the flu could be that bad'," Australian National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance director Kristine Macartney said.

"But when it meets them, as it does many, we see the real cost"

"It's not a cold ... one of the greatest misconceptions is the flu is the sniffle".

Professor Macartney added young children are in the cohort of most vulnerable Australians and severe cases could see them struggling to breathe in an intensive care unit, or suffering brain swelling and seizures.

However, for the first time, Australian children won't require a needle to be jabbed into their arm.

Free nasal spray flu vaccinations have been introduced in four states.

NSW and SA are funding the free treatment for children aged two, three and four, Queensland is offering it to those between two and five, and WA is funding it for kids aged two to 11.

They will also be available for private purchase for those aged between two and 18 across the country.

Other vulnerable cohorts include people aged 65 or older, obese people, pregnant women, smokers, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

"Vaccination might not always stop people from catching an infection entirely, however it does reduce the severity of the disease," Australian Centre for Disease Control deputy director-general Masha Somi said.

"Vaccination also reduces the likelihood of spreading the disease in the community and that's really important for the protection of those who can't get vaccinated."

While the severity of this year's flu season remains unknown, figures from 2024 showed three-in-four young children didn't receive a vaccination.

Neither did four-in-ten people aged above 65, or seven-in-10 working age adults.

"There's still a lot of work to do to increase vaccination coverage rates," Dr Somi said.