Practice Connect #244

In 2025, around 25% of influenza notifications were in children aged 2 to 11 years, with more than 17,000 children presenting to emergency departments with respiratory illnesses and over 1,300 admitted to the hospital. Despite the heavy burden of influenza illness in children, only 17% of this age group were vaccinated against influenza in 2025.

As part of the WA Health Winter Strategy 2026, WA children aged from 2 years to 11 years are eligible for a free needle-free nasal spray flu vaccine, FluMist. This initiative aims to improve immunisation rates and reduce the impact of influenza. Our quality improvement (QI) activity for this month gives you a Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) template to track how offering this service affects your influenza vaccination rates in this cohort of patients. If you would like any assistance in running this activity, please contact either your known QI Coach for your region or the team via email at qi@wapha.org.au

QI Activity: Increasing influenza vaccination in 2 to 11 year olds by introducing FluMist nasal spray

National Immunisation program eligibility:

From 15 May 2026, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, Arexvy, will be funded through the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for the following groups:

• Adults aged 75 years and over.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 60 years and over.

Access points:

Eligible older adults will be able to receive the free RSV vaccine from GPs, immunisation clinics, community and Aboriginal medical services, as well as participating pharmacies.

WA State Government initiative:

The Western Australian state government will provide Arexvy to people aged 60 and over living in residential aged care facilities. This initiative aims to protect vulnerable seniors by offering greater access to this important vaccine.

Eligibility criteria for additional groups:

Individuals may also be eligible for vaccination if they meet any of the following criteria:

Aged 60 to 74 years and

• Residing in a residential aged care facility,
• Receiving Commonwealth Support at Home*,
• Living in specialist disability accommodation (SDA)**,
• Staying in residential mental health services,
• Experiencing homelessness,
• Incarcerated in a correctional facility.

Aged 50 to 59 years in one of the above settings and

• Are Aboriginal,
• Have a risk factor for severe RSV disease.

Exclusions:

*Excludes persons on the Support at Home waitlist and those on the Commonwealth Home Support Package (CHSP).

**Excludes persons on the SDA waitlist or receiving supported independent living (SIL).

Vaccine ordering process:

Practices will be able to order the vaccine via the usual Onelink process in May. WA Primary Health Alliance will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Refer to the recent media release from the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing for further information.

Refer to the WA RSV program information.

The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has launched a series of posters and digital resources to help immunisation providers offer people the information they need about influenza vaccination this year.

Designed specifically for parents of children under 5 years of age, adults, expectant mothers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the resources provide information on:

• Why and when people should get vaccinated against influenza this year.
• Who is eligible for a free influenza vaccine under the National Immunisation Program?
• Influenza vaccine safety.

Access the resources here.

A new national study shows that people are now choosing not to get vaccinated mainly because of their beliefs and worries about flu vaccines, rather than practical factors like how easy it is to book appointments or vaccination costs. Parents reported that influenza vaccination for their child was not a priority, that they do not intend to vaccinate their child in the next influenza season and that they do not believe the vaccine is effective.

Key messages:

• The top ten most common barriers in 2025 were related to influenza vaccine acceptance.
• The barrier most strongly associated with not vaccinating in 2025 was choosing not to prioritise an influenza vaccination over other things.
• All eleven acceptance barriers and all four access barriers were more commonly reported among parents of unvaccinated children than among parents of vaccinated children in 2025.
• Nine of the eleven acceptance barriers were more commonly reported in 2025 than in 2024, while access barriers remained stable or slightly declined.

The findings signal a shift in beliefs about disease risk and the value of vaccination, despite convincing evidence that influenza can cause serious illness, hospitalisation and, in rare cases death in young children.

These insights reinforce the need to clearly communicate the importance of influenza vaccination, the potential impact of influenza infection, and to integrate it into our routine care. 

Find the key findings and summary here.

The Immunisation Coalition has released four 15‑minute clinical newsletters (two on RSV and two on influenza) covering disease burden, recent vaccination trends and prevention strategies for infants/children up to 24 months and for children/adolescents aged 6 months up to 18 years.

The RSV newsletters discuss RSV disease, vaccination trends, and preventive approaches for infants and children aged up to 24 months, including maternal RSV vaccination and long-acting monoclonal antibodies. These newsletters also provide eligibility guidance according to national and state or territory recommendations.

The influenza newsletters explore influenza disease, vaccination trends, and prevention strategies for children aged 6 months to up to 18 years, including vaccination recommendations and available vaccines, injectable and intranasal.

To access these resources, register and view the newsletters here.

Cancer Council WA, WA Health, and WA Primary Health Alliance invite your practice to help raise awareness of the National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) by hosting a waiting room display during May 2026.

By setting up a display in your practice you can help patients understand the importance of lung cancer screening, who is eligible, how it works and why early detection can save lives.

How to get involved:

1. Order a free resource pack for your display via our order form.
2. Set up your NLCSP display in your waiting room during May 2026.
3. Send a photo of your display to gp@cancerwa.asn.au by 15 June 2026 to be entered into the competition.

Win a prize!

• Every practice that submits a photo will receive a $25 gift card.
• The major prize, a $300 gift card, will be awarded to the display judged to be most creative, innovative and reflective of overall effort. The winner will be chosen by WA Health and notified on 17 June by 5:00pm (AWST).