Free vaccinations are on offer in Dubbo on Friday as part of a bid to prevent a repeat of the deadly 2017 flu season in NSW.
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The Western NSW Local Health District is urging the community to turn out to Dubbo Regional Council’s Civic Administration Building between 10am and 4pm for a flu jab.
It reports of 650 flu-related deaths in NSW during “one of the worst flu seasons on record last year”. There were about 1300 notifications of laboratory-confirmed influenza across the health district in September 2017, compared with 297 notifications in September 2016.
The health district’s manager health protection Priscilla Stanley reports that vaccination is the “best protection against the flu”.
“So we encourage you and your loved ones to get vaccinated against this deadly infection this winter,” she said. “The best time to have the flu vaccine is in April or May to ensure your protection doesn’t wane before the flu season peaks. The vaccine takes two weeks to be fully effective.”
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Ms Stanley said flu vaccines were now available at most GPs, Aboriginal medical services and for children under five years of age, council and community centres that routinely provide vaccination services.
Free flu shots are available to members of the community who are pregnant, people over 65 years of age, most Aboriginal people and those with medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart problems.
NSW Health is spending $1.75 million on free flu vaccinations in communities across the state for a “limited time”. The state government has allocated $3.5 million for free flu shots for children up to five years old, part of the $22.75 million it is injecting into statewide immunisation programs in 2017/2018.