Thousands of children can now receive free flu vaccinations without a needle as NSW health authorities attempt to boost lagging immunisation rates following the state’s worst influenza season on record.
GPs, pharmacies and Aboriginal medical services will offer the new nasal spray flu vaccine to all two-, three- and four-year-olds from Tuesday under the NSW government’s $4.4 million pilot immunisation program.
Health Minister Ryan Park said the government was funding the program to help increase vaccine uptake in children under five, who were at greater risk of serious illness from influenza.
“I know how unsettling it can be for some parents taking a child to receive a vaccine,” Park said. “A needle-free alternative is a real win for those parents.”
The coming flu season is the first for which the intranasal option is available, despite its initial approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in 2016 and widespread use in the northern hemisphere for two decades.
‘More young children will be vaccinated, and that means fewer families in hospital and less pressure on our health system.’
Dr Rebekah Hoffman, NSW chair of RACGP
NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia have all funded free nasal spray vaccines for certain age groups from this year. For those children who are not eligible for a free vaccine, parents can choose to pay anywhere between $50 and $70 for a private prescription.
More than 130,000 children across NSW are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Dr Rebekah Hoffman, NSW chair of the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP), said two-thirds of children have a strong fear of needles, and this was a major barrier to achieving strong vaccine coverage.
“That barrier is now gone,” Hoffman said. “More young children will be vaccinated, and that means fewer families in hospital and less pressure on our health system.”
A quarter of NSW children under five were vaccinated against influenza in 2025. Australia has not reached its target of 40 per cent vaccination coverage since 2019, when 41.8 per cent of children between six months and five years of age received an influenza vaccine.
Vaccination does not prevent influenza infection, but it reduces the risk of serious illness and hospitalisation.
Ben Gray, whose three-year-old son Hamish received the vaccine this week, said the nasal option removed the drama parents often endure when preparing their child for needles.
“The fact that we don’t have to go through that makes such a huge difference,” he said.
In his work as an early childhood educator, Gray has seen bad flu seasons cause havoc for parents, staff and at-risk children, who can become seriously ill.
“A 38 (degree) temperature turns to a 40, and next thing you know, you’re calling them an ambulance,” he said.
“I can’t think of any negatives really around doing this.”
Margie Danchin, a professor of paediatrics and vaccinology at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, said the intranasal flu vaccine should increase vaccination rates in younger children, but there was still work to do to boost coverage in school-aged children from just 15 per cent last year.
“That’s a disaster,” she said. “A school-based intranasal flu program with no needles could substantially lift coverage.”
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Angus Thomson is a reporter covering health at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
