Annual Influenza Vaccination in Australia

Running Head: ANNUAL INFLUENZA VACCINATION 1
Annual Influenza Vaccination
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ANNUAL INFLUENZA VACCINATION 2
Annual Influenza Vaccination
Annual influenza vaccination in Australia has been a recommended practice since 1999
specifically for the old aged individuals of sixty-five years and above. Statistics reveal that the
Commonwealth government has offered to give a free vaccine to the mentioned group which is
not funded publicly (Demicheli, 2018). However, an exemption has always been made to
individuals who are vulnerable to severe influenza communication. This group includes the
healthcare providers who attend to the infected patients as well as family members who facilitate
intensive care way from hospitals. Also, the Aboriginal group of individuals is given a special
consideration where individual aged between 15-50 years are diagnosed with high infection risks
enrolled in the immunization program (Coleman, 2018).
However various factors influence the uptake of the free and recommended influenza
vaccination. They include the cost, convenience, and awareness. The factors, among others, act
as barriers for the influenza vaccination initiative to the specified groups. Data collected on
research on influenza vaccination prevalence reveal that high rates of awareness on the benefits
of influenza vaccination increase the turnout individuals (Belongia, 2016). This aspect controls
the spread of the infection among the vulnerable individuals as well as the old aged Australians.
The statistics also reveal the convenient vaccination procedures have a higher probability of
improving uptake. Also, the cost of the free vaccination initiative affects the rate of annual
influenza vaccination on the old aged Australians as well (Simpson, 2016). Therefore, this paper
will discuss the prevalence of annual influenza vaccination among the old aged and vulnerable
Australians, and the cultural safety measures in the community.
In Australia, the funding of vaccines is done by the government to regulate the spread of
influenza among the aging adults and children in the specific Australian population. Vaccination

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is initiated under the Australian national immunization program and through other private means.
In the past two decades, new vaccines established to control the flu have revealed it effectiveness
through practical experiments subjected to the infected patients. The flu vaccine recommended
for people aged sixty-five years and above should have Fluad or Fluzone High-Dose (Doherty,
2018). The vaccine is designed to increase protection against influenza A/H3N2 which is severe
and most common in old individuals in Australia. This remedy, furthermore, compensates for the
loss of immunity against the B strain. This strain, however, is not included in the young patients’
vaccine since they already possess it in their body systems.
Some of the quadrivalent vaccines of influenza for the elderly available in Australian
healthcare systems include FluQuadri 0.5 ml, Fluarix Tetra ml, Afluria Quad 0.5ml and influence
Tetra 0.5ml. The Fluzone High Dose 0.5ml and the Fluad 0.5ml are categorized under the
trivalent influenza vaccines for the elderly Australians (Connolly, 2018). The vaccination is
conducted between June and September when the flu is circulating at a high rate. Protection lasts
for a whole season. However, optimal protection is guaranteed in the first three to four months.
Vaccines administered during the annual influenza vaccination in Australia are booster
vaccines. As mentioned earlier, their impact on protection last for one season which is a period
of three to four months. The shots are timely administered between the June and September
when the prevalence of the infection is high (Darvishian, 2014). The effectiveness and efficacy
of the influenza vaccines depend primarily on the degree of virus strains similarity and the
immunocompetence and the age of the recipients. Also, the differences in magnitudes between
the trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines based on protection against the B strain remains
unpredictable in any season.

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Aspects which include annual variation, antigenic mismatch, cross-protection and the
pre-existing immunity among recipients dictate the rate of circulation of influenza strains. Recent
research in Australian healthcare systems laboratories implies that the quadrivalent vaccines are
54% effective hence reliable in controlling the infection. On the other hand, the trivalent
vaccines with the HA contents are 24% more effective than standard trivalent vaccines (Bijlsma,
2014).
The annual immunization recommendation has been a major focus of the Australian
healthcare system. Health workers in Australian health facilities concur that annual
immunization among the old population is one of the most effective techniques for preventing
infections by the influenza strains. Specifically, influenza vaccination among adults with sixty-
five years and above began in 1999 (Doherty, 2016). Research conducted by scholars reveal that
unlike the younger individuals, older people are at a higher risk of contracting the disease as well
as spreading it. Their immunity is weak, and this condition is evident through the high prevalent
cases on respiratory and circulatory chronic infections among the same population. It can be
proved by research which implies that influenza vaccination among healthy recipients under
sixty-five years old is 70-90% effective (Schmid, 2016).
Individuals in these categories include children from the aboriginal community as well
as healthcare facilitators and student in Australian healthcare facilities. It is also recommended
that the health care providers should receive the annual vaccination to reduce the risk of infection
from the affected patients and to the healthy patients.