Queenslanders are being offered a free flu vaccine in a bid to protect against Influenza A as case numbers surge across the state.
People aged six months and older will be able to get a free flu vaccine from now until mid-June from their local GPs and pharmacies.
It comes amid a major outbreak that has seen more than 4,000 flu cases already reported this year.
Queensland Health warns cases have been doubling every week — increasing from 1,848 cases to 4,282 in the latest data released last week.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had taken the "unprecedented" decision to protect people amid low rates of immunity.
"Case numbers are climbing earlier than expected," she said.
"We are seeing the impacts on our hospitals and if we don't get a vaccinated community with the flu vaccine, we are going to see escalating numbers in our hospitals.
Ms Palaszczuk said 151 people had been hospitalised with the flu so far, while 10 were in intensive care.
"The flu season this year is significantly bad and it's comparable to the season we had in 2017," she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said young people aged between 10 and 30 were particularly at risk and warned symptoms would be similar to COVID-19.
She said cost-of-living pressures were another reason she sought to make the vaccine accessible to all.
'Frightening' case numbers worse than 2017 outbreak
Of the two most common flu types in Australia, Influenza A is considered to cause far more severe symptoms than Influenza B.
Acting Queensland Chief Health Officer Peter Aitken said cases of Influenza A will lead to more hospitalisations.
He urged parents to get their children vaccinated as soon as possible as the virus commonly affects young people and older Australians.
"Vaccination rates for children six months to less than five years of age is just 6 per cent," Dr Aitken said.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said Influenza A had not circulated in Queensland in the past five years.
Ms D'Ath said the 2017 flu season saw more than 750 people in intensive care.
"Our 2019 season saw about 300 people," she said.
"The fact that more than 4,000 cases have already been detected when flu seasons don't usually begin until late July is very concerning," she said.
"Ninety-eight per cent of our flu cases this year are Influenza A.
"Compared to the 2017 flu season's hospital admission rates, we are already at the admission rate that we saw at the end of July in 2017, which means this is escalating very quickly."
Ms D'Ath said in the next two to three weeks, cases were expected to at least double.
The prediction comes after flu cases had been reduced to almost nil over the past two years following the implementation of COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing measures.
She said businesses should brace for staffing shortages over the winter months and encourage all staff members to get the free vaccine.
Both the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) of Queensland have welcomed the move.
AMA Queensland's Dr Bav Manoharan described the current flu cases as "astonishing".
"We're really worried about the trajectory that this flu season is heading on … it's quite frightening," he said.
