Queensland is battling a ‘flunami’ as flu cases strain the health service and authorities enter crisis talks over a shortage of hospital beds.
For the first time this year, the number of residents admitted to hospital with the flu is higher than the number of patients admitted with Covid.
Queensland Health figures show that 257 people have been admitted to hospital with flu up to and including Sunday, five more than the number of people with Covid. In addition, more than 80 per cent of hospital admissions for flu are in patients who have not been vaccinated.
Last week, 5,674 people were diagnosed with the flu, compared to 1,603 Covid cases. This winter, 37 people have died from the flu.
Of the flu cases, 1,521 occurred in schoolchildren, 630 in preschoolers and 644 in people over 65 years of age.
Infectious diseases expert Dr Paul Griffin said the number of flu cases was putting pressure on the health service and there had been “crisis meetings about the shortage of beds because our hospitals are overcrowded”.
“It’s one of our lowest flu vaccination years, which is a bit disappointing,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We have lobbied hard to finance the vaccination for everyone in advance, and the government has, it must be said, done so.
Queensland is in a ‘flunami’ situation as flu cases strain the health system and authorities enter crisis talks over a shortage of hospital beds (Photo: Surfers Paradise)
‘So in Queensland at the moment it’s free for everyone who’s eligible, but despite that we’ve actually seen quite a low uptake.
“And given the numbers (of people with flu) that we’re seeing right now and the impact on the health care system, that’s quite disappointing,” he said.
According to Dr. Griffin, there are several factors that are causing the lower than expected vaccination rates.
“We’ve focused so much on Covid over the last few years. We’ve also asked a lot of people to try to limit the spread of Covid. I think there’s an element of fatigue and frustration in a lot of those measures.”
He said some people have lost sight of the importance of the flu.
‘We’ve heard so much about the Covid numbers and the impact of Covid that people may have forgotten that flu is here and that it is a serious viral infection in itself.
‘Misinformation about vaccination, its benefits and safety has also spread to vaccines other than Covid.
Dr. Griffin said people think, ‘What’s the point? I wouldn’t get that vaccine. It doesn’t stop you from getting it.’
But he said that this is the wrong way to look at it.
“We know the vaccine is not perfect. It doesn’t necessarily prevent you from getting the flu,” he said.
‘But what it does do is significantly change your trajectory and reduce the chance that you will develop a more serious illness and, for example, need to be admitted to hospital.
Dr Griffin said the lower than expected vaccination rates were caused by a few different factors (pictured, an Australian health care worker dressed in personal protective equipment)
“We know that the vaccine is very good at that.”
He added that “if our vaccination coverage is low, we have a population more susceptible to developing more severe manifestations, requiring hospitalization and possibly not even surviving.”
All those extra hospital admissions of people who have not been vaccinated put enormous pressure on the healthcare system.
“The challenge is that our health care system is essentially operating at full capacity. When you add additional challenges to that, it becomes more difficult,” said Dr. Griffin.
“And right now, with the high numbers of hospitalizations for flu and the large number of people in hospital with Covid and a number of other unique challenges, it’s putting a huge strain on our health care system…
‘There are virtually no (hospital) beds in south-east Queensland.’
Epidemiologist Catherine Bennett also told Daily Mail Australia that “it is concerning that we are seeing a decline in flu vaccination rates”.
She said the slow vaccination rate was partly because “there were early warnings that the disease was not as serious as people might have expected.
‘If that is usually a reason for people to get vaccinated in April or May, then they may have started a little late this year.
“But maybe we’re paying the price for that. It’s played out like a pretty nasty flu season across the country.”