Doctors will break with convention and urge Australians to go to their GP and get their flu shots as soon as possible in a bid to reduce the load on hospitals during the probable peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a normal year, doctors typically advise their patients to wait until May for the vaccine, but there is concern it may not be as safe to get it later, or that sufficient medical staff may not be available.
Sydney GP Allison Bielawski gives a flu shot to patient Lily Bardsley on Monday.Credit:James Brickwood
Some medical groups worry that people are avoiding medical appointments and fearful of going out in public in the midst of social-distancing restrictions, which would further reduce the number of people who receive the vaccine.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Harry Nespolon is among those urging people to come out of isolation “into the world and visit their GP”.
The college is also urging GPs to set up separate flu clinics, to minimise patient-to-patient contact.
A record amount of influenza vaccine has been secured by the federal government this year, but reports of a decline in visits to GPs of up to 50 per cent have left doctors worried that more people will go unprotected.
Influenza poses its own deadly threat, with the annual death toll estimated at more than 3000.
Australian Medical Association president Dr Tony Bartone said he was concerned about what would happen if the flu impact were “superimposed on a season which is overrun by COVID-19”.
“Especially if we don’t flatten that curve, hospitals will be overrun and there will be no capacity to deal with the milder to moderate cases of influenza,” he said.
Even some best-case scenarios have forecast a COVID-19 death toll of about 50,000 Australians.
The likelihood people are missing their usual workplace vaccination programs is adding to the worry that more will be exposed to the flu this year. On the flipside, the spread of the virus should be reduced as more people go into isolation.
The influenza vaccine is considered most effective from three to four months after it is given.
Professor Ian Barr, deputy director of the World Health Organisation influenza centre at the Doherty Institute in Melbourne, said 2020 would probably be an exception when it came to the flu vaccination's timing.
“The availability of health professionals who are fit and well and able to deliver vaccines is probably pretty good at this stage, and that may not be the case further down the track,” he said.
Professor Barr said early vaccination could pose a problem if there were a late flu peak, in September for example.
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“But I think that is a risk worth taking at this stage.”
Pharmacy Guild of Australia president George Tambassis said there was no doubt early and broad flu vaccination would help in the fight against COVID-19, and vaccinations should start any time from now, with supplies already arriving in pharmacies.
The AMA is urging Australians to ring their doctor to make an appointment to ensure orderly take-up of stock.
The vaccine is free for a number of higher-risk groups, including pregnant women, those aged 65 or older, and children aged six months to five years.
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