Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Palmerston Superclinic GP CEO Robyn Cahill says it's imperative Territorians get their flu shot as the flu season kicks up

Transcript

Palmerston Superclinic GP CEO Robyn Cahill says it's imperative Territorians get their flu shot as the flu season kicks up · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure about you, but it does seem like
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: every second person has a cold or some kind of
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: virus at the moment.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: You can probably hear it in my voice. And I'm
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: not just.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Talking about COVID. I know I've been fighting alergi for
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: a little while. Half the kids in the soccer team
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: have been off sick last week. There certainly seems to
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: be plenty of bugs getting around last week. We did,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: indeed hear from the Center for Disease Control that there
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: are a high number of the flu or high numbers
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: when it comes to the flu around the Northern Territory.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Right now, and joining me on the line is the
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  Speaker 1: CEO of the Palmerston super Clinic, Robin Karl.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Robin.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie. How you going?
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  Speaker 1: Oh, not too bad. I've been fighting a bit of
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  Speaker 1: a cold for a while. Robin, I reckon half the
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  Speaker 1: territory is at the moment, I.
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: Think you could be right there.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Are you seeing a lot of people come in presenting
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: with cold or flu symptoms? How are things going at
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  Speaker 1: the moment?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, We're definitely seeing a significant increase in the cold
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: and flu symptoms and probably about sixty percent of the
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: people who are coming through our registry clinic are testing
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  Speaker 3: positive for influenza A. Wow, so massive, massive increase in
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  Speaker 3: diagnosis and prevalence of influenza A in the community.
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  Speaker 2: Goodness made, Robin. What are the symptoms?
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  Speaker 1: Because I know that you know, for a lot of
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  Speaker 1: us you sort of go, do I have a cold?
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: Do I have influenza? But influenza is you feel it
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  Speaker 1: a lot more, don't you.
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  Speaker 3: So influenza IS he typically presents as you start to
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: feel a little bit off, then fevers, apes, chills, pains,
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  Speaker 3: some people can develop a cough that's quite significant, and vomiting,
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: sometimes a bit of diarrhea. So obviously symptoms that are
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  Speaker 3: quite similar to COVID, certainly in the early days, So people,
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: I think, what's happening? People are getting those symptoms, doing
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: their rat tests at home and finding that they're negative
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: for COVID, but are so feeling unwell that they think
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: they need to see someone, so then they're booking into
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  Speaker 3: the respiratory clinic. We obviously do the assessment and the
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: tests for COVID, but we also do a full respiratory
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: screen as well, and we're finding that the majority of
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: these people are now testing positive for influenza as well.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: There you go.
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  Speaker 1: I'm listening to those symptoms, Robin and thinking, is that
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  Speaker 1: what both my children have right now?
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  Speaker 3: It's quite possibly because it's been children. As we know,
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  Speaker 3: and as we've learned over the last six months, certainly
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  Speaker 3: since the onset of omicron, children do love to spread
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  Speaker 3: the love. They are a great source of viral infection
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  Speaker 3: in the community because it's very very difficult, particularly very
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  Speaker 3: small children, to try to get them to stop being
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: children and hugging and kissing and spending time with each other. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: that's quite possible that that's what they've got.
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  Speaker 1: Oh. Look, they're wonderful kids, but they are pretty gross.
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  Speaker 1: They certainly share every germ that they've got with everybody
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  Speaker 1: around them. Rob walk us through with that percentage you
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: said about sixty percent of people that are presenting a
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  Speaker 1: testing positive to influenza A.
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  Speaker 3: That's correct.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, are they quite.
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  Speaker 1: Large numbers comparatively to what you've seen in previous years.
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  Speaker 3: Almost definitely. I think in the past we'll certainly pre COVID,
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  Speaker 3: if we had maybe a half a dozen positive confirmed
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  Speaker 3: influenza cases that came through our clinic, we would think
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  Speaker 3: that that was quite high. Statistics that we've got from
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  Speaker 3: the Health Department in the recent couple of days has
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  Speaker 3: indicated that from March till the beginning of May we've
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: had three hundred confirmed influenza cases in the Northern territory
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  Speaker 3: compared to seventy six for the entire twenty twenty one period.
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  Speaker 1: Goodness me, so they're large numbers. Rob and I know
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: that New South Wales is the latest state to offer
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  Speaker 1: residents a free flu jab ahead of the cooler months,
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: as the health authorities there begin to worry about already
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: spy in cases.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Do you think that that's a path.
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  Speaker 1: That we need to go down in the territory or
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  Speaker 1: are we finding that quite a high volume of people
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  Speaker 1: are already going to get their flu vaccine.
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  Speaker 3: Well, what we've found is that the people coming into
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: their flu jabs is about half of what we would
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  Speaker 3: have expected to see pre COVID. So I think the
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  Speaker 3: element of vaccine fatigue has kicked in. Also some confusion
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  Speaker 3: for some people who think, oh, I've been vaccinated against COVID,
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  Speaker 3: so I'm good, I don't have to worry about anything else,
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  Speaker 3: which is not the case. That actually quite different viral route.
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  Speaker 3: I think that the government probably does need to think
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  Speaker 3: about it, because what we're seeing in other states' territories
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  Speaker 3: is the hospital systems are under enormous pressure, more pressure
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  Speaker 3: than they were at the height of COVID because people
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  Speaker 3: have just stopped taking care of themselves. They've stopped hand sanitizing,
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  Speaker 3: they've stopped respecting social distancing, They've gone, oh, I don't
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  Speaker 3: have COVID. So even though I'm not feeling all that light,
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: still go to work. And we're just seeing this massive
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: spread of influenza. Bearing in mind that we've had two
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: years really of no influence influenza in the community, so
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  Speaker 3: we've really almost back to square one in some respects
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  Speaker 3: of people's immunity levels in order to combat the infection
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  Speaker 3: when they are exposed to it, which is why I
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  Speaker 3: think we're seeing people become really quite unwell very quickly
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  Speaker 3: when they're exposed to the influenza virus.
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  Speaker 2: Will there you go?
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  Speaker 1: Now? So who actually who should come in and get
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  Speaker 1: their fluvacs or their influenza vaccine?
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  Speaker 3: Is it?
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  Speaker 2: Everybody?
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  Speaker 3: Everyone? Everyone, everyone needs to come and have it. So
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  Speaker 3: the National Humanization Program, which is run by the Fedral government,
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  Speaker 3: has always offered free vaccines to those highly vulnerable groups
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  Speaker 3: of people, and in the territory and across the country,
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  Speaker 3: any aboriginal entarisia island of people over six months are
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: able to access that. It cost children between the ages
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  Speaker 3: of six months and five years, because again that's the
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  Speaker 3: group that loves to spread the love, and it's also
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  Speaker 3: a high risk for children to get influenza that it
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  Speaker 3: actually can end up hospitalized because they can deteriorate quite quickly.
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  Speaker 3: So parents who've had children who've had those exposures would
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  Speaker 3: understand and know that pregnant women, people over the age
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  Speaker 3: of sixty five, and then people over the age of
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  Speaker 3: six months who have specific medical peditions are able to
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  Speaker 3: get that vaccine for free. So there's a very large
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  Speaker 3: group of people irrespective of whether the Northern Territory government
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: decides to offer a free fluvacs to everybody who are
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  Speaker 3: able to access a flu vaccine at no cost now
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  Speaker 3: and for those who currently have to pay, it's not
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  Speaker 3: a significant cost. It ranges between about fifteen and twenty
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  Speaker 3: dollars to be able to have that vaccine done.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was what I thought.
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  Speaker 1: It's not an expensive one to go and get and
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  Speaker 1: by the sounds of it, if you are somebody that's
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: on the pension, it sounds like you're probably eligible for
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: a free vaccine, so.
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  Speaker 2: Hopefully would be definitely Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Robin, I know that there are probably some people listening
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  Speaker 1: this morning who are thinking, oh, I do think I
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  Speaker 1: want to go and get the flu vacs, but I'm
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: already a little bit crook?
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  Speaker 2: Do you not go and get it? If you're crook?
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  Speaker 3: We recommend that if you're not feeling well, that you
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  Speaker 3: first clear that you haven't got influenza. The last thing
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  Speaker 3: you want to do is be out and about and
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  Speaker 3: feeling dreadful and have influenza and be spreading it. So certainly,
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  Speaker 3: anyone who's not feeling well, if they're not able to
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: get into their regular GP, they can certainly look to
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: get to the rest of your clinic booking online there. Otherwise,
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  Speaker 3: if you're feeling a little bit off, it could be
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  Speaker 3: for lots and lots of reasons, it's worthwhile having a
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: chat with your GP just to see if you can
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  Speaker 3: go ahead and have that vaccine now, or have a
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  Speaker 3: chat with the local pharmacist and see what they recommend. Preferably,
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  Speaker 3: get the vaccine before you start to feel unwell. Well.
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  Speaker 1: I tell you wash, it's going to be an interesting
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  Speaker 1: a few months if people don't go and get that
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  Speaker 1: flu vaccine, because by the sounds of Verge that those numbers,
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  Speaker 1: we're expecting that they're probably going to be quite high
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  Speaker 1: around the territory.
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  Speaker 2: I'm totally surprised to hear that.
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  Speaker 1: You know that you've got sixty percent of people have
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: come in who are maybe thinking they've got COVID or
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  Speaker 1: something else, but have actually got influenza. It seems quite high.
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  Speaker 3: And it will. It is high, and it's something we
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: were fearful of, but we're hoping we wouldn't see. And
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  Speaker 3: of course the other thing is that you can actually
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  Speaker 3: have COVID and influenza at the same time. So we
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  Speaker 3: have actually had a couple of patients who've tested positive
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  Speaker 3: to both COVID and influenza and they have been very unwell.
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  Speaker 3: And that's not something that you want to experience. So
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  Speaker 3: basic rules that people have been following for the last
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  Speaker 3: two years. Wash your hand, ye hand sanitized. If you're
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  Speaker 3: not feeling well, please stay at home, don't go to work,
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  Speaker 3: or wear a mask. I know that it's not some
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: thing as a community, we've all been all that comfortable doing,
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  Speaker 3: but we've had to do it from time to time,
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  Speaker 3: and really it's one of the best ways to protect
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  Speaker 3: each other to stop the spread of those viral infections.
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  Speaker 3: So even if we can get people to start doing
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  Speaker 3: those things, I think we'll see a reduction in the
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  Speaker 3: spread of the influenza violence.
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  Speaker 1: Now, if you do think you've got influenza Robin, do
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  Speaker 1: you need to go in and get a test?
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  Speaker 3: We don't need to. It just depends on how unwell
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  Speaker 3: you are. Most people will find that it'll run its
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: course relatively quickly, so we're talking a few days. But
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  Speaker 3: for some people there's a risk that it can develop
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: into something far more severe. I've had anecdotal evidence from
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: people who have been in that quite young twenty to
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: thirty age group have found themselves hospitalized because of an
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  Speaker 3: influenza infection. So I think we do need to be
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  Speaker 3: very cautious. If you're not well and you're not sure, absolutely,
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  Speaker 3: I think it's worthwhile seeing local GP to make sure
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: that there's nothing else going on. And if you do
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: need some intervention to help break that cycle of that
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: infection and help get you through it, then that's what
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  Speaker 3: you should be doing.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Robin Carl, I really appreciate your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Hopefully everybody goes out and gets their flu vax or
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: you know it looks after themselves and certainly you know,
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: washing the hands and following that good hygiene so that
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: we don't all end up sick.
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: Most definitely, and I think we learned the lesson in COVID.
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: It's a lesson that we should just keep following. We
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: saw we pretty much eradicated influenza from our community in
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: Australia over the last two years. We can do it again,
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: very very simple. Yeah, wash your hands, stay at home
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: if you're not well, don't feel like you have to
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: be the martyr and throw yourself into work when you're
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: not feeling well. Work will survive without you, and probably
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: better if you don't take your bugs with you. And
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: then once you spend mone you're back on your feet
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: back to work, do you think and the whole community
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: will thank you ultimately for doing that good stuff.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: Well, Robin Carl, the CEO of the Palmerston GP Superclinic,
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: We really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: for having your chat with us.
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: Not a problem, Katie, Thanks for having me on.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: Thank you