3 days ago
Jessica Page: WA has the country's lowest flu vaccination rate putting the vulnerable at risk
There's something in the air — winter. And our hospitals are not ready for it. They're barely coping now.
Plenty of blame can be, and has been, shared around on that score.
And it's my turn to cop a bit.
And probably only fair that the Health Minister dish it out.
Rightly under pressure over yet another month of record ramping, Meredith Hammat insisted it is a nationwide issue and that the State Government is throwing everything at it.
She also said there is something everyone can do to help.
'The United States just experienced its worst flu season in 16 years and we've used that information to prepare for the additional demand this winter will likely bring to WA,' Ms Hammat said.
'Please, if you haven't done so already, get your free flu vaccination and protect yourself and your loved ones this winter'.
The Premier must have been listening.
Over the weekend, a photo of Roger Cook dutifully getting his jab at the local pharmacy was posted on his social media accounts with a timely reminder that the vaccine is only free in WA until the end of this month.
But it was another photo that brought me to tears and made me chastise myself for not yet booking my kids in for their jabs.
It was a photo of a two-year-old boy hooked up to a ventilator due to influenza.
His mother Hannah Elsey reported that he was previously healthy, with no medical conditions, but fell ill a couple of weeks before an appointment to get vaccinated.
'Luckily he survived and has made a full recovery, but I don't think I will ever fully recover from the trauma,' she said.
That social media post reached me all the way from Sudbury in the U.K. but it is relevant here and now, with warnings that a dire flu season in the United Kingdom and the United States is a harbinger of what is to come.
The UK Health Security Agency has reported Influenza-mortality for the 2024-25 winter of about 7,800, up 53 per cent on the previous year.
Most were people aged over 65, but the deaths of eight children aged four and under, were blamed on the flu.
It's already taking a toll in WA, as reported by vaccine advocate Catherine Hughes who knows what she's talking about — all too well.
'Today was hard,' she posted on Light for Riley, the Facebook page set up in her son's name.
'I met with a beautiful mum who, just a couple of weeks ago, unexpectedly lost her young daughter to influenza.
'Before winter even began. Her gorgeous girl is just… gone. Please, if you can protect your kids… do it!'
Too many have not.
WA's flu vaccination rates this year are the worst in the country.
Only 12.3 per cent of 0-4 year olds have been vaccinated, equal last with South Australia.
The Vics are the best of the States at 18.8 per cent. Surely we can't let them win two flags this year?
(Putting aside the territories, lest I admit the bureaucrats in the ACT have won anything.)
Even our seniors are lagging, with only 50 per cent of the over-65s vaccinated.
In a supposed cost of living crisis, surely anything that's free would generate a rush to line up longer than the fro yo queues that jam the footpath in Vic Park on a Friday night?
But it is easier said than done for two working parents to find the time.
Then when you do, one or both kids are already sick with something else and its back to waiting for a gap in the calendar.
Western Australia has a troubled history with the flu vaccine, in particular, that does warrant caution. But caution should not be mistaken for conspiracies.
Check the label, make sure you're being given the vaccine that's recommended for kids (VaxiGrip Tetra or FluQuadri) and ask your doctor if you have any questions.
I'm no doctor, so I'll leave the last word to someone who is better qualified: PCH Paediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist and Kids Institute researcher Chris Blyth.
'We know that vaccines are the most cost effective public health intervention that we have,' Dr Blyth said.
'We know that vaccines do save lives and we know the vaccines that are on the schedule have been demonstrated to be safe and effective.'
They're not a 100 per cent guarantee, but up to 70 per cent effective is better than naught.
'It's a moderately protective vaccine, but we know that flu can be a very severe disease and any level of protection certainly translates to people keeping out of hospital,' Dr Blyth said.
Hospital staff are counting on that.
