Australia will now have to deal with both COVID-19 and the influenza season in winter 2022.
All Australians who can receive the influenza vaccine have been urged to by Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Sonya Bennett.
The National Immunization Program (NIP) of the Australian government offers a free influenza vaccine to higher risk groups of influenza complications.
These are the groups:
- mothers-to-be
- Over six months old, indigenous peoples of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent
- people over the age of 65
- Those who have underlying medical issues that make them more susceptible to severe influenza
- Children between the ages of six months and five years old.