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An additional 400,000 doses of influenza vaccine are on their way to Australia to meet the growing and unprecedented demand for the vaccine.
More than 12 million vaccines have already been distributed across the country, of which two-thirds are for people eligible for free shots in national or national vaccination programs.
Although the offer of these programs – targeting the elderly, young children and pregnant women – is secure, there is an "unprecedented demand" for influenza vaccines through GPs and pharmacists. .
So far this year, more than 12.1 million influenza vaccines have been put on the market, including 7.5 million for government vaccination programs and 4.6 million doses for the private market.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said he was working with vaccine manufacturers to ensure sufficient supply in the private market.
The pharmaceutical company Sanofi will provide 400,000 additional vaccines to Australia over the next few weeks, which will be available through general practitioners and community pharmacies.
"This will bring the total number of influenza vaccines available in Australia this year to more than 12.5 million, up from 11 million in 2018," Hunt said in a statement released on Wednesday.
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The demand for influenza vaccines is due to the country facing one of the most severe flu seasons in years.
The death toll for the 2019 influenza season is currently 139, according to figures from the Federal Department of Health.
So far, 58,000 cases of influenza have been reported in Australia.
In South Australia, 35 people died from the flu and 15,000 cases were diagnosed this year, according to SA Health magazine.
The death toll in Queensland last week reached 25, with people aged 20 to 30 among the victims. Of these deaths, 18 were in the at-risk age group of over 65 years.
In Victoria, three children aged three, six and 11 were among the 26 registered deaths. In the state up to now, more than 10,000 cases have been reported.
The majority of influenza victims killed by the disease in Victoria were elderly residents.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said last week that the deaths of three children were unusual and that the rise in the number of influenza cases could be attributed to Australians traveling abroad.
"We see a lot of communicable diseases spreading during trips abroad, which is certainly the case in terms of cases of measles and flu," Mikakos told reporters.
"We have witnessed a very important summer flu season this year following the return of people from the northern hemisphere with influenza and their spread into the community," said Mikakos.
"(Juvenile influenza deaths) tend to be badociated with situations in which there may be other diseases and vulnerabilities involved with these children."
The substantial increase in the number of deaths, three times higher than the average of last year, led to a discussion on the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine.
The number of reported cases in hospitals has risen sharply, mainly due to the "low level of effectiveness" of the 2017 vaccine against the most common strain of the virus.
Originally published under the title "Unprecedented Influenza Vaccine Application"
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