Now is the time to avoid a winter of discontent.
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Doctors are expecting a severe flu season, possibly our worst on record. 19,000 flu cases have already been reported - more diagnoses than by this point last year - while Victorian numbers of flu patients are triple 2018 figures, and South Australia has the most cases in more than a decade.
The elderly and the very young are most at risk; more than 1000 people died from influenza A (H3N2) in 2017, while 5800 Australians were hospitalised last year.
The NSW government recommends everyone over six months should be vaccinated.
"It will lessen the incidences in the population," Jaya Lutz Hann, pharmacist at Priceline Armidale, said. "It's not just about the individual benefit; it's for the benefit of the population as a whole."
(Miss Lutz Hann is one of several local pharmacists offering the vaccine.)
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The vaccine, Miss Lutz Hann explained, is an inactivated version of the flu. It helps the body to create antibodies against the virus. Should we encounter the flu, our immune systems can fight it faster, so we won't fall sick, or, if we do, our illness won't be as severe.
Vaccinations also protect people around us who may be unwell, have a low immune system, or who can't get the flu shot for medical reasons.
The flu shot starts to protect us after two weeks, then peaks in three or four months. People who are immunized now will be protected in July and August, the worst of the flu season.
You should be vaccinated every year; the flu virus mutates rapidly, so last year's vaccination may not protect you against this year's bug.
This year, Miss Lutz Hann said, Priceline is using Influvac Tetra, which protects patients from four strains scientists predict will be most prevalent in the southern hemisphere this winter.
The NSW government has made the flu vaccine free for those most at risk: pregnant women; all Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders over six months; children between six months and five years old; and anyone over six months with certain medical risks (including cardiac and chronic respiratory conditions).
People over 65 can get a free super-booster Fluad vaccine from their doctor to better protect them.
Under the NSW government's expanded vaccination program, pharmacists can now vaccinate patients over 16 (brought down from 18).
Priceline charges $19.95, which covers both the cost of the shot and the pharmacist. "It's best to get it now, rather than putting it off," Miss Lutz Hann said. Customers can talk to staff, or book online.
You can't catch the flu from the vaccine, Miss Lutz Hann said. The vaccine may cause a mild fever and aches and pains for a couple of days, which is the immune system at work. She recommends keeping up fluids, and taking Panadol.
To look after yourself, you can also buy vitamin C, zinc, or echinacea from you pharmacy to take over the winter months. Use hand sanitizer to keep your hands clean, and always sneeze into your elbow - not into your hands (which can transmit the germs), or into the air, and certainly not over other people!