Australian flu campaign targets high-risk Aboriginal children

Australian Aboriginal children will receive free flu shots this winter in an effort by the government to prevent unnecessary fatalities, Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley said on Tuesday.

Ley said that indigenous children were five times more likely to die from the flu than other Australian children. "Free access to the flu vaccine will mean this essential preventative health measure is now within the reach of the most at-risk indigenous children."

"Providing free flu vaccines to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their formative years will help them to grow up healthy, happy and ready for school and be a positive step towards closing the gap in health outcomes," Ley said in a statement. Endi