THE latest national influenza data reflects the major impact arising from the committed effort the community pharmacy sector has put into raising vaccination rates across Australia.
Health Minister Greg Hunt noted that to this point in 2017 there were 143,000 reportable cases of flu while as of 28 Aug this year, the figure was just 25,000.
At the same point in 2017, 610 people were reported as having lost their lives to flu, while the comparable figure this year was 38.
"That is an extraordinary achievement which is in part due to the nature of this year's virus, in part due to the strength and the targeted nature of the vaccines that are available, but also due to the dramatically higher level of vaccination across the community," the minister said.
"I want to acknowledge the role of community pharmacists across Australia who in collaboration with the broader primary healthcare team have provided record levels of flu vaccinations in 2018 which to date has resulted in significantly lower influenza notifications and deaths compared to 2017," Minister Hunt concluded.
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