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Australia prepared for 2016 flu season after record number of cases in 2015

Xinhua, November 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australians will be given access to a stronger flu vaccine for 2016, following a record number of influenza cases this year.

More than 93,000 Australians were diagnosed with the flu in 2015, up from 65,000 in 2015.

Australia's Health Minister Sussan Ley said on Friday that a sharp rise in flu cases, combined with an unusually severe 2015 influenza season in the northern hemisphere, had forced the Health Department to concoct the stronger vaccine for next year.

Ley admitted that a government decision to delay the release of the 2015 immunization could also have contributed to the higher than expected number of cases, saying that a mutated strain meant authorities had to update their vaccines before releasing them to the public.

But Ley said the new 2016 vaccine, which now immunizes against four strains instead of three, was "the best possible protection will be available free to the people who most need it".

Next season's flu shot will cover the influenza A strains known as California and Hong Kong, as well as the Brisbane and Phuket influenza B strains.

Influenza B, which Ley said contributed to 62 percent of all cases, is covered by the vaccine, and she encouraged everyone, regardless of age and health, to get the shot before 2016's season to avoid falling ill.

In Australia, pregnant women, those with existing medical conditions, senior citizens and most Indigenous Australians are eligible for a free influenza vaccine.

All other Australians are required to pay a small fee in order to get the shot. Endit