Australian GPs are sounding the alarm over a record-breaking flu season they attribute in part to a rise in anti-vaccination sentiment, fuelled by social media and, they say, the White House.
This ideological wave, which gained momentum during the pandemic, has contributed to a drop in flu vaccinations across almost all age groups, even as confirmed flu cases have soared past previous all-time highs.
There have been more than 410,000 confirmed cases of the flu across the country in 2025 so far – more than the previous all-time high of 365,000 in 2024 – and about 1.5 per cent of the population.
Flu vaccination rates are declining across almost all age groups, and doctors are particularly concerned for the vulnerable six-month to five-year-old cohort and the 65-plus group, with 25.7 per c