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Are you pregnant or a seven-month-old baby with exceptional enough literacy skills that you’re reviewing this article? Then congratulations, NSW Health states that you are eligible for a free influenza vaccine.
These jabs are also free to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, folks with cardiac diseases, people with chronic respiratory conditions, those that have impaired immunity, and individuals over the age of 65. If you’re keen to go through the whole list of who’s eligible for a free influenza shot, then check out NSW Health’s website.
But if you’re upset that you have to pay for your jab, then there might be some beneficial news on the horizon. For the NSW government is considering making influenza vaccines free for everyone. This is because the state is worried about how many people are going to get the flu this year.
Nine News reports that NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has said, “NSW Health has been warning us for months of the likelihood of a horror flu season.” So far this year, NSW has had almost 15,000 cases of the flu.
The NSW government is aiming to implement a free influenza scheme that’s similar in nature to the one that Queensland has introduced. As per The Guardian, Hazard stated, “We’re working with our colleagues in the pharmacy area and also GPs to look at how we might be able to achieve that.” He also commented, “We’ll make some announcements on that over the next few days… And hopefully, we will be able to follow a similar path.”
An infectious diseases expert at the University of Sydney, Professor Dominic Dwyer, emphasised that the NSW government updating its free jab policy would be a good move. Dwyer said, “If they make it free, that’s the sort of thing that helps you with any vaccine.”
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