The adjuvanted influenza vaccine has gained additional approval under the National Immunisation Program.
Australians aged 50 years and older can now access Fluad under the National Immunisation Program.
The adjuvanted trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine had been available to adults aged 65 and up under the NIP since 2018 but is now recommended for adults aged 50 years and older.
Fluzone High-Dose (Sanofi-Aventis Australia) is recommended and included in the NIP for people 60 years and older.
Dr Jules Bayliss, vaccines medical director for CSL Seqirus, welcomed the announcement.
“As an Australian company, our mission is to reduce the potentially devastating impact of flu on families, communities and our health system. Today’s announcement is another important step towards this vision,” they said.
Public health physician and Queensland-based GP Professor Paul Van Buynder said influenza could affect people over the age of 50 more seriously than they thought.
“If you’re over 50, your immune system has changed – even when your lifestyle hasn’t. Catching [the] flu could mean hospitalisation or worse and that’s why it’s so important to think about the flu season ahead [of time] and talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your personal risk and the flu vaccine option that’s right for you,” he said in a statement.
Patients Australia’s health reform ambassador Dr Nick Coatsworth emphasised the need for older Australians to keep influenza front of mind coming into winter.
“There’s really no such thing as ‘just the flu’,” the former deputy chief medical officer of Australia told media.
“It’s a disease that can really knock you around – even a mild case can be a week or two of feeling really unwell and missing work and time with family and friends.
“We can see from the data that people in their 50s just aren’t aware of their risk when it comes to the flu.”
Related
The National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System has recorded 23,901 cases of laboratory-confirmed influenza in 2026 (as of the morning of 25 March), with New South Wales (8164), Queensland (7402) and Victoria (4390) contributing the largest number of cases.
Roughly one third of these cases (7731) occurred in patients aged 50 years and older. Last year there were 48,643 cases of influenza recorded between January and March.
Data from the Australian Immunisation Register shows that 33,480 Australians received an influenza vaccination between 1 March and 22 March this year, a steep drop on the 102,850 vaccinations delivered over the same timeframe in 2025 and the 111,310 delivered in 2024.
NSW (9620), Queensland (7880) and South Australia (5900) have delivered the most influenza vaccines this March, with the Northern Territory (510) and Tasmania (280) delivering the fewest.
The number of people aged 65 years and older who have been vaccinated against influenza this year is slightly over half of the 2025 number (12,280 versus 22,100).
