Last year’s horror flu season is unlikely to be repeated this year, according to a range of experts. Professor Robert Booy, director of the Immunisation Coalition, says the vaccines available this year are better. “They are going to be good – not excellent, but good,” he said. “The best expectation I have is we’ll have a mild to moderate season. We don’t have any reason from the northern hemisphere to expect different,” Professor Booy told The Age.

This year’s vaccine will again immunise against four flu strains and incorporates an updated immunisation for the H3 strain, which caused most problems last year. It should be between 30 and 60 per cent effective in preventing flu, says Professor Booy, compared with about 30 per cent last year.

The Government says everyone from six months old should be vaccinated, a far cry from the reported 27 per cent of Australians vaccinated in 2017.

Do you have an annual flu shot? Has it been effective?