Immunisation Weekly Update:

1. Free nasal spray flu vaccine for children under five
2. Have your say: help shape the implementation of Australia’s National Immunisation Strategy
3. Measles alerts
4. Education

Free nasal spray flu vaccine for children under five

The NSW Government has committed to funding a new free intranasal influenza (flu) vaccine, FluMist, for children aged 2 to 4 years old ahead of the 2026 flu season.

FluMist has been widely used in the northern hemisphere for many years and is undergoing regulatory approval in Australia ahead of next year’s flu season. The vaccine is sprayed into the nose and provides the same protection as the currently available vaccine for this age group. It will be available through general practitioners.

This needle-free alternative to the injectable flu vaccine for children is expected to increase their uptake of the vaccine by offering a pain-free option for vaccinating children who may fear needles.

Flu vaccination rates for children aged 6 months to under 5 years in Australia remain low at 25.7%. There have been over 3000 presentations to emergency departments in NSW in 2025 for influenza-like illness in children aged 5 and under, and over 600 hospital admissions. In the UK, which introduced FluMist in 2013, over 40% of 2-3 year olds got vaccinated against flu in 2025.

It is expected that the vaccine will also be available in the private market for other age groups, depending on regulatory approval.

Read the full Ministerial media release here.

Have your say: help shape the implementation of Australia’s National Immunisation Strategy

On behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, NCIRS is facilitating consultation to assist with implementation planning for the National Immunisation Strategy 2025–2030.

Members of the immunisation community – including healthcare and immunisation providers, researchers, community members and others – are invited to share their insights and ideas via an online survey.

The survey aims to capture:

• new initiatives, or the expansion/modification of existing activities, to address each of the strategy’s six Priority Areas
• barriers to progressing these activities/initiatives
• the resources and mechanisms required to implement these activities/initiatives. 

The survey is confidential and will take about 15 minutes to complete. It will close COB Friday, 3 October 2025.

Complete the survey here

Source: NCIRS Weekly Jab newsletter 19 September 2025. Subscribe here: ncirs.org.au/user/register

Measles alerts

NSW Health is advising people to be alert for signs and symptoms of measles after being notified of confirmed cases who were infectious while visiting several locations in Sydney.

The cases recently returned from Western Australia and from Indonesia, where there are active outbreaks of measles.

People who attended this location in north western Sydney or these locations in Sydney Airport and Northern NSW should watch for the development of symptoms. These locations do not pose an ongoing risk. 

Education