South Australian parents are being urged to vaccinate their children against the flu as cases continue to rise across the state this year. 

Currently, less than one in five SA children under the age of five have had a flu vaccine according to Health Minister Chris Picton, who says this is too low, even though it’s higher than the national average.

“Young children are especially vulnerable to the serious impacts of flu and more likely to end up in hospital,” he says.

“We’re listening to the health experts by providing an excellent program that provides free flu vaccines to around 600,000 South Australians including children under 5, people over 65, pregnant women, all Aboriginal people over 6 months of age, and those with underlying health conditions.

“South Australians have a strong record for rolling up their sleeves. Overall, our flu vaccine uptake is higher than the national average and better than any mainland state – we just need more parents to get their young kids vaccinated.

So far this year, 781 children under the age of five have been diagnosed with flu in South Australia, with 87 of those diagnosed resulting in hospitalisation.

Across the state, there have been 6,754 flu cases reported so far this year – compared to 4,267 cases at the same time last year.

The flu vaccine is free for at-risk groups including children less than five years, people aged more than 65 years, pregnant women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those aged more than six months with certain health conditions. People can find out if they are eligible by visiting the SA Health website.

SA’s flu vaccine uptake across the board is once again above the national average and the highest of any mainland state, according to the state government, with almost 30 per cent of South Australians vaccinated.

For more information on flu vaccines for children under five years, visit the SA Health website.