Consider flu jabs sooner because of coronavirus

The influenza vaccine should be released early this year, infectious disease experts say, amid growing fears the global coronavirus pandemic could hit Australia at the peak of the flu season.

Professor Nigel McMillan, an infectious disease expert at Griffith University, said the dual threat of being infected with both potentially lethal respiratory illnesses at the same time meant the flu vaccine should be rolled out earlier than planned.

Flu shots for hospital staff in high-risk roles

Frontline staff in Victoria's hospitals will be forced to get the flu jab under sweeping new regulations being rolled out by the state government.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos announced on Thursday that it will be mandatory for workers in high-risk areas including intensive care units, neonatal intensive care units and cancer wards to be vaccinated against the flu.

Why you should still get the flu vaccine

The young, the old and those with underlying medical conditions are most prone to flu danger.

Australian medical experts say it is still not too late to get the flu vaccine as concerns rise over a death toll attributed to the illness.

More than 220 Australians have died from the flu this year. On Thursday, Victorian health authorities announced that 43-year-old James Day, from Traralgon, had died after a week in hospital from flu complications.

When is the best time to get your flu shot?

When most of us get the flu, we spend three or four days on the couch feeling miserable, then we bounce back pretty quickly.

But others have more severe symptoms and need to be hospitalised because they're at risk of life-threatening complications. Some people even die from the flu.

The size and impact of influenza seasons varies from year to year. In 2017, Australia had its worst flu season for 20 years, with at least 1,255 lives lost.

Flu Vax takeup growing in Aussie Businesses

It’s a bid to fight the rise in absenteeism and create healthier and more productive workforces, the group says.

As Australia heads towards its 2019 flu season, many employees are again expected to take multiple sick days to recover from illness.

Absenteeism currently costs the Australian economy about $7 billion, while the cost of presenteeism (where employees are sick on the job) is approximately $34 billion through lost productivity.

In 2018, approximately 48,276 cases of influenza were reported nationwide.

Flu costs Australian employers $7 billion

Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) employers are being encouraged to take advantage of flu vaccinations this year, with absenteeism (being absent from work due to illness) costing $7 billion each year in lost wages, and presenteeism (attending work whilst unwell) costing $34 billion in lost productivity.

Queensland leads the nation in flu cases in 2019

As temperature records were set across Queensland, the state hit another undesirable milestone - recording almost three times the five-year average for summer flu cases.

Since the start of January to February 10 this year there have been nearly 2600 lab confirmed cases of influenza, compared to an average of 881 confirmed cases for the same period in the previous five years.

Queensland also leads the nation in the number of influenza cases so far this year, with New South Wales in second place with 2196 cases.

Summer influenza cases double in NSW