Free vaccine to beat the flu

Doctors are urging people to get vaccinated against influenza well before winter starts in order to allow their bodies to build up immunity.

With winter less than 10 weeks away, people who fall into particularly vulnerable categories are encouraged to visit their doctor to get a free vaccination.

Brecken Health Care’s Dr Simon Harbinson said people aged over 65, pregnant women, people with chronic medical conditions and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged over 15 could get a vaccination for free.

“Prevention is definitely better than cure so if you fit into these categories definitely get it before the weather starts getting damp,” Dr Harbinson said.

Department of Health Communicable Disease Control director Paul Armstrong said the vaccine would protect people against strains of influenza circulating in the northern hemisphere in 2012.

“Getting vaccinated early, during the autumn, will give your body plenty of time to build up immunity before the flu season begins,” Dr Armstrong said.

“Flu can be a very serious illness and is easily spread from person to person through coughing or by touching contaminated surfaces then touching your mouth or nose.”

He said parents of young children could be assured that the one brand of flu vaccine associated with high fevers and convulsions in 2010 was not approved for use in children under five years old.

Dr Harbinson said one in 10 people would get side effects such as soreness, redness or flu-like symptoms in the days after being vaccinated.