Equitable vaccine access ‘does not go far enough’

The RACGP is calling for an urgent expansion of access to subsidised flu, meningococcal, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines amid an ongoing surge in case numbers.
 
The college has written to New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park urging statewide change, saying that with a health system under pressure, expanding vaccination access will save lives.
 
Ahead of its GPs@Parliament event next month, the RACGP is calling for full funding of influenza vaccination for high-risk groups and intranasal influenza vaccines for children aged 2–5 years.
 
It is also advocating for funding of meningococcal B vaccines for patients aged two years and under and 15–19, and funding for RSV vaccines for those aged over 50. 
 
RACGP NSW&ACT Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman said the current free vaccine schemes ‘do not go far enough’.
 
‘We will have an intranasal flu vaccine available next year. So, funding access to this new vaccine for children aged 2–5 years will help relieve the stresses many parents and carers will be all too mindful of when it comes to giving small children an injection,’ she said.
 
‘This is a significant step forward as young kids can be particularly vulnerable to the severe effects of the flu.
 
‘The technology will be available – we just need to help more families access this potentially life-saving care.’
 
So far this year there have been 137,028 cases of RSV nationwide, 310,728 cases of influenza, and 79 cases of meningococcal
 
In NSW specifically, 60,150 cases of RSV have been reported, 120,045 cases of influenza, and 24 cases of meningococcal.
 
Dr Hoffman said GPs know what works, ‘we just need the political will to make it happen’.
 
‘Complacency can prove costly … placing blame won’t get us anywhere, let’s work together,’ she said.
 
‘After the very successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, a level of “vaccine fatigue” may have unfortunately set in, with some people not as concerned about other health conditions like the flu, as well as RSV, meningococcal B and pertussis.
 
‘Those illnesses haven’t gone away, and they can have severe health impacts.’
 
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influenza meningococcal New South Wales respiratory syncytial virus RSV vaccines