Flu Shots Available in Abbotsford

While anyone can receive the flu shot, it is free for the following groups of people:

• People aged six months to less than five years.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged six months and older.
• Pregnant women (at any stage of pregnancy).
• People aged 65 years and older.
• People aged six months and older with medical conditions putting them at increased risk of severe influenza and its complications.

If you book in for an appointment with the nurse, you will only pay for the cost of the flu shot, which is $20. You will also be seen briefly by a GP beforehand (n.b., no other GP services are available for this appointment, including scripts and referrals).

If you book in with the doctor (outside of nursing hours), you must pay the standard appointment fee and, if ineligible for the free vaccine, the cost of the flu shot ($20).

Yes, we do. The cost is $49 per patient for on-site flu shots, or $20 if attending one of our clinics. Employers will be asked to email how many people they need vaccinated, and their contact details. Please contact one of our clinics to organise company flu shots.

All immunocompromised patients and children under 9 years of age who receive the flu shot for the first time are recommended to receive two vaccine doses, at least four weeks apart and one dose annually thereafter. Children under three years of age will require a junior version of the vaccine.

• Cardiac disease, including cyanotic congenital heart disease, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure.
• Chronic respiratory conditions, including suppurative lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and severe asthma.
• Other chronic illnesses requiring regular medical follow up or hospitalisation in the previous year, including diabetes mellitus, chronic metabolic diseases, chronic renal failure, and haemoglobinopathies.
• Chronic neurological conditions that impact on respiratory function, including multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and seizure disorders.
• Impaired immunity, including HIV, malignancy and chronic steroid use.

The pre-immunisation checklist helps your doctor or nurse determine the best immunisation schedule for you or your child. You can familiarise yourself with it here.

Serious adverse reactions to the flu vaccine are very rare. About 10% experience swelling, redness or pain at the site of the injection. 10% of children aged six months to three years experience fever.

Side effects or adverse reactions following any immunisation can be reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration by calling the Adverse Medicine Events Line on 1300 134 237, or lodging a report online at the TGA website via the ‘report a problem link’. You can also report adverse events to your doctor, hospital, health centre or to your state or territory health authority.

It is not yet clear the extent to which coronavirus worsens influenza; there is simply not enough data at this stage on people with co-infections. But some things always hold true. Having two infections can seriously hamper your immune system. If you already have the flu, your immune system will not cope as well against coronavirus versus someone who doesn’t have the flu.

Also, people with the flu present to their GP or local hospital more frequently than those without the flu, putting them at risk of other infections, such as coronavirus. And, of course, if there are fewer people sick with influenza, the medical system at large will be better place to spend vital resources on combating coronavirus.

If you are a fit and healthy adult under the age of 65, it is recommended that you receive the flu vaccine if you have regular contact with very young children, the elderly or people who are unwell.

Its important to note that the benefits of the flu vaccine go beyond the person receiving it. Getting the flu shot means you are protecting those too sick or vulnerable to be vaccinated, by reducing the incidence of influenza in the community.