MELBOURNE, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Australia has recorded its worst flu season on record, with more than 410,000 laboratory-confirmed cases reported so far in 2025, peak body data showed on Monday.
The tally has surpassed last year's record of 365,000 cases, according to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Australia's leading general practice organization.
Australia's flu incidence now stands at 1,525 cases per 100,000 people, up nearly 11 percent from 2024, said a RACGP statement.
More than 44,500 infections were among children under five, a disproportionately high 10.9 percent of all cases, while more than one in three cases were recorded among children younger than 15, it said.
"This is not a record we want to be breaking, we must boost vaccination rates and reverse this trend," said RACGP President Michael Wright who described the latest figures as a wake-up call for governments to accelerate free vaccination programs.
Despite the soaring influenza cases, flu vaccination coverage has stagnated. Only 25.7 percent of children aged six months to five years and 60.5 percent of people aged over 65 have been vaccinated in 2025, both at their lowest levels since 2021 and 2020, respectively, it said.
Authorities in the states of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia plan to offer free intranasal flu vaccinations for children ahead of the 2026 flu season, a move the RACGP hopes other states and territories will follow.
"Many kids are fearful of needles, which can stall vaccination efforts," said Wright, adding, "That's why needle-free vaccinations are a game changer."
Intranasal flu vaccines have been proven safe and effective overseas, with countries like Finland, Britain, Italy, and Spain using them for years and seeing significant increases in vaccination coverage among high-risk groups, he said. ■