Flu predicted to roar back during Australia’s winter after two-year reprieve

Australia's coming flu season is likely to be worse than in previous pandemic years, with experts warning against complacency around influenza vaccines.

There was a historically low level of influenza transmission nationally last year, largely a result of the closure of international borders and other public health measures related to Covid-19.

Data from the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System showed there were 598 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in all of 2021, according to the Doherty Institute's Prof Ian Barr.

In comparison, the same number of cases has already been recorded this year, as of April 6 data.

"There is normally low-level activity through these summer and autumn months, and the real uptick doesn't start normally until May," Barr, who is deputy director of the World Health Organization's collaborating centre for reference and research on influenza, said.

"Covid is front and centre of people's minds and influenza isn't really," he said.

"The virus is going to be back this year, after a two-year layoff, and vaccination is still the best way to protect yourself."