The number of people getting their annual flu vaccination at the local pharmacy has nearly doubled in the past four years, but fewer are getting the jab overall in 2025.
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Doctors are warning of a horror season for influenza and other respiratory illnesses, while governments encourage parents to get their infants immunised.
Flu shots delivered at pharmacies soared from 652,500 between March and May in 2022 to 1.16 million over the same period in 2025, new federal health department figures show.
But a total of 385,000 fewer people got the jab by May 2025 then two years previously.
Just one quarter of young kids vaccinated
Across Australia, flu vaccination rates remain low.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said coverage for infants aged six months to five years in his state had declined from 41.3 per cent in 2020 to 25.4 per cent in 2024.
But children aged two and up could now get their shot at the local pharmacy, he said.
"We want to make it as accessible and as convenient as possible for young children to receive their influenza vaccine ahead of a severe winter season," Mr Park said in a statement.
'Could save your life'
Doctors say less than one third of Australians aged over 65 - and fewer than one in three children - have been vaccinated so far in 2025.
But there had already been more than 71,000 lab-confirmed flu cases.
"We've already seen a very early start to the flu season, and we're set to see a surge in flu and other respiratory diseases in the coming winter months," Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) president Dr Michael Wright said.
"So, now is the perfect time to get vaccinated. It's a decision that could save your life."
Pharmacies have been able to deliver vaccinations since 2013 and federal health authorities encourage the annual flu shot for all Australians aged six months and over.
Flu shots are generally free for children aged six months to five years, people over 65 years, pregnant women, Indigenous people, and those with medical conditions that put them at increased risk of severe flu.
