According to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, ‘for the first time in five years, influenza and COVID-19 cases have been overtaken by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) this season, as a peak immunisation advocacy group releases its ‘state of play’.
Latest figures collated for the Immunisation Foundation of Australia (IFA) mid-winter report card show that 83,678 cases of RSV have been recorded so far this year, followed by 51,655 COVID cases, and 49,785 flu cases in Australia. In fact, the IFA is predicting that there will be 127,000 cases of RSV in Australia by the end of winter.
Eligibility to receive free immunisation against RSV includes for:
- pregnant women at 28–36 weeks of pregnancy
- people aged 75 years and older
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 60 years and older
- people with medical risk factors for severe RSV disease aged 60 years and older
- eligible infants up to eight months (if the mother wasn’t vaccinated) and certain at-risk infants and children through state-funded programs.
Stirling Central Health Clinic is conducting RSV Vaccination Clinics weekly. If you do not fit the criteria, you can still have the vaccine at a cost.
For more information on RSV, click here. If you would like to make an appointment for a vaccination, click here or phone 8370 9777.