Flu deaths exceed Covid-19 in late 2025, doctors push early vaccines

Australia is facing a concerning rise in flu cases in 2026, with nearly 25,000 infections recorded by the end of March, a warning sign after last year’s record-breaking outbreak.

The Royal Australian College of GPs is urging Australians to book their annual flu vaccination now before the winter months push hospitals to their limits.

Doctors are keen to avoid a repeat of 2025 when emergency departments were overwhelmed, ambulances faced long ramping delays, and influenza claimed 1738 lives. The 502,972 lab-confirmed cases in that year marked the worst flu season on record.

From August 2025 to January 2026, more deaths were associated with influenza than Covid-19.

Meanwhile, flu vaccination coverage remained low. By the end of August 2025, just 25.7 per cent of children aged six months to five years, 14.5 per cent of five to 15-year-olds, and 60.5 per cent of Australians over 65 were immunised.

RACGP president Michael Wright fears rising flu cases will strain hospitals and trigger more ambulance ramping if numbers continue to climb.

“Last year was a horror flu year. That likely contributed to the surge in demand on our hospitals we saw in 2025 and unacceptable ambulance ramping when hospitals couldn’t cope as a result,” Dr Wright said.

“No one wants to see that again. Not parents and not the state and territory governments which run our public hospitals.”

This year, doctors are particularly concerned about a new, highly mutated strain of influenza A (H3N2), nicknamed “Super-K”.

First detected in the US in June 2025, the strain led to dozens of child deaths and has now been confirmed in Australia.

“More than 2700 of the flu cases Australia has recorded this year were among babies and children under five who are at a higher risk of hospitalisation and complications, whether or not they have pre-existing medical conditions,” Dr Wright said.

“All adults should get a flu vaccine each year, but for those young children, it’s essential.”

Several states now offer needle-free, intranasal flu vaccines for young children, providing the same protection as traditional shots but as a painless spray.

In NSW, Queensland, and South Australia, the vaccines are available for children aged two to five, while in Western Australia, children aged two to 12 can access the intranasal option.

“Intranasal vaccines provide the same protection as current vaccinations but replace a needle with a painless spray,” Dr Wright said.

“It’s a smart way to keep kids safe from severe infections, which can have long-term health consequences.”