{"id":64471,"date":"2026-08-04T00:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T00:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/64471\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T00:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T00:41:07","slug":"pharmacists-urge-brisbane-residents-to-get-vaccinated-before-ekka-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/64471\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharmacists urge Brisbane residents to get vaccinated before EKKA break"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brisbane residents are being urged to book for a free flu vaccination before the EKKA holiday, with more than 12,000 influenza cases recorded across Queensland so far this year.<\/p>\n<p>The Queensland Government\u2019s Free Flu Vaccination Program remains open to all Queenslanders aged 6 months and older, with free vaccines available through community pharmacies until 30 September 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Vaccination timed ahead of holiday period<\/p>\n<p>Pharmacy Guild of Australia Queensland Branch President, Chris Owen, says now is a great time to get vaccinated ahead of the EKKA holiday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the Ekka holiday coming up, now is the best time for Brisbane residents to get vaccinated so that they have some immunity against influenza,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInfluenza can cause serious illness, particularly among younger and older Queenslanders and people with underlying health conditions.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gofollow\" data-track=\"NDI2LDEzLDEsMTA=\" href=\"https:\/\/www.claratyne.com.au\/products\/childrens-claratyne-grape-chewables\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/g13-claratyne-v2.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cVaccination is the most effective way to protect ourselves and those around us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr Owen says that getting vaccinated for influenza also helps to take pressure off the hospital system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose who get influenza vaccinations are less likely to develop more serious infections if they do fall ill with influenza.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy getting vaccinated, Queenslanders are less likely to develop an infection that will require emergency care in hospital \u2014 this relieves enormous pressure from the hospital system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nasal spray program gains momentum<\/p>\n<p>Mr Owen says the expansion of the Queensland Nasal Spray Flu Immunisation Program continues to be popular.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe nasal spray is offered free in 2026 for children aged 2 to 5 years inclusive, and to those aged 6 to 17 years inclusive who struggle with getting a needle,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been amazed at the number of people coming into community pharmacy asking to have access to the nasal spray \u2014 we\u2019ve seen a 30 per cent increase in vaccinations for children aged 2 to 5, and Queensland is leading the country with a 31.4% increase in under-five vaccinations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Queenslanders are encouraged to Think Pharmacy First and book their free flu vaccination now.<\/p>\n<p>To find a participating community pharmacy near you, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/findapharmacy.com.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">findapharmacy.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brisbane residents are being urged to book for a free flu vaccination before the EKKA holiday, with more&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64472,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[99,78840,78841,78842,60405,30243,78843,78844,78845,78846,15054],"class_list":["post-64471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brisbane","tag-brisbane","tag-chris-owen","tag-ekka","tag-flu-vaccine","tag-holiday","tag-influenza","tag-pharmacists","tag-pharmacy-guild-of-australia-queensland-branch-president","tag-queensland-governments-free-flu-vaccination-program","tag-queensland-nasal-spray-flu-immunisation-program","tag-vaccination"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}