Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Health Public Health Physician Pasqualina Coffey is encouraging Territorians to get their flu vaccines with four deaths and almost 1,000 cases so far this year

Transcript

NT Health Public Health Physician Pasqualina Coffey is encouraging Territorians to get their flu vaccines with four deaths and almost 1,000 cases so far this year · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: You know that Territorians over the age of six months
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  Speaker 1: are now able to receive their twenty twenty three influenza vaccine.
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  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line to tell us a
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  Speaker 1: little bit more about the situation is Pasquaalina Coffee, a
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  Speaker 1: public health physician within to Health. Good morning to you, Pasqualina,
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  Speaker 1: good morning, Thanks so much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Now tell us a little bit more about the influenza vaccine.
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  Speaker 1: I know that it is now available. Who's eligible?
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  Speaker 2: That's correct, So any Territorian of the age of six
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  Speaker 2: months now can receive their twenty twenty three influenta vaccine.
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  Speaker 2: And for nearly or just over one hundred thousand Territorians
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  Speaker 2: who are eligible to get a free flu vaccine, they're
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  Speaker 2: able to go to their vaccine provider with GP or
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  Speaker 2: pharmacy for that. And so that's you know, all children
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  Speaker 2: from six months to five years or aboriginal Torres Strait Islanders.
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  Speaker 2: And then also anyone with a specific chronic medical condition
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  Speaker 2: such as chronic heart disease and chronic lung disease, because
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  Speaker 2: we know that those people, if they get the flu,
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  Speaker 2: it can be particularly serious. And then also all pregnant
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  Speaker 2: women and all people aged over sixty five and Pascorale.
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  Speaker 1: That there does seem to be quite a few people
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  Speaker 1: around at the moment. I don't know whether they've got
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  Speaker 1: common colds or what they've got, but there does seem
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  Speaker 1: to be a few people that are crook.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct. To date for this year, we've had
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  Speaker 2: nearly a thousand cases already of the flu and badly
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  Speaker 2: four deaths in among territorians. But yeah, we've seen much
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  Speaker 2: higher rate than we have seen in the past few years.
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  Speaker 2: And having said that, last year we had our highest
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  Speaker 2: number of the flu ever with all the restrictions coming
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  Speaker 2: off for COVID and people traveling again. So now between
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  Speaker 2: now and winter for down south especially, it's the best
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  Speaker 2: time for people to start getting prepared and getting protected
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  Speaker 2: against the flu.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, So already a thousand cases of the flu
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  Speaker 1: here in the territory this year and four deaths, did
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  Speaker 1: you say, Yes, that is really sad to hear. And
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  Speaker 1: we know that you know that, Like you said, we've
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  Speaker 1: got those high rates from last year. How can we
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  Speaker 1: reckon any idea why there are such high numbers already
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  Speaker 1: this year.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we've probably seen just an ongoing the high rates
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  Speaker 2: last years still circulating. As we said, people are enjoying
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  Speaker 2: traveling again, whether that's interstate or internationally. And then we
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  Speaker 2: had two years of essentially very few flu cases, so
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  Speaker 2: people don't have any underlying immunity. And that's why, you know,
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  Speaker 2: getting vaccinated and keeping up those good practices of good hygiene,
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  Speaker 2: you know, coughetiq and things like that, is the best
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  Speaker 2: way to protect ourselves and protect each other.
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  Speaker 1: And yeah, look it's hard to argue with that. I've
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  Speaker 1: got two kids, so I think you end up with
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  Speaker 1: everything that's floating around at different times. Bas it's a
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  Speaker 1: tough juggle. When you've got young ones, they seem to
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  Speaker 1: pick up everything.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's unfortunate. Ongoing struggle there.
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  Speaker 1: Now, tell me it's the flu vaccine. I know you've
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  Speaker 1: gone through who's eligible? Where can people go if they
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  Speaker 1: do want a bit more info? And you know, just
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  Speaker 1: in terms of booking those vaccines, is it something that
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  Speaker 1: you can do at any GP?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so people can go through their GP. There's also
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  Speaker 2: some pharmacies that supply the flu vaccine, but also all
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  Speaker 2: the community care centers, so they're in every NT major
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  Speaker 2: city in town. Also, you've got your aboriginal medical services,
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  Speaker 2: remote health services and anyone who wants more information. The
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  Speaker 2: easiest way you go to the nt health website online
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  Speaker 2: and just google influenza or flu vaccine and all the
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  Speaker 2: information there for you.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Public health physician Pascorlina Coffee, We really appreciate your
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  Speaker 1: time this morning. Thank you so very much for having
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  Speaker 1: a chat with us.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, thank you, Katie, thank you