Here's what you need to know about flu season

Flu season is nearly here and pharmacists are encouraging people to get their flu vaccine.

Influenza vaccines are available from the start of April, but pharmacists recommend waiting until the end of the month to early May before getting the jab for the best protection over the winter months.

Pharmacist Irwin Lowe said "anyone from a young adult right up until about 65 can just rock up at a pharmacy and... you pretty much get the jab just like that".

The vaccine costs $20 although some vulnerable Australians are eligible for a free jab.

Under the National Immunisation Program free flu vaccines are available for children under five, pregnant women, First Nations people, people aged over 65 years and people with certain medical conditions such as asthma.

Mr Lowe said people had been less diligent about getting the vaccine since COVID-19 but it was still important.

"From a purely selfish point on view... you basically don't catch the thing you're being vaccinated for," he said.

"But the very big one is you're protecting loved ones.

"If you're a carrier for flu and you pass that onto your elderly grandparents and then they get sick, that's not fantastic."

Mr Lowe also said people weren't aware of how serious the effects of the flu could be.

"If you actually get proper flu it makes you really sick," he said.

"A lot of people when they catch a cold they say 'oh I got the flu'.

"But you know when you got the flu because you can't get out of bed, every muscle aches and it's just absolutely horrible."

The Australian Influenza Surveillance Report 2023 found of the 252,296 notifications of laboratory-confirmed influenza, 376 influenza associated deaths were notified to the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.

From the commencement of seasonal surveillance in April 2023, there were 3,696 sentinel hospital admissions, of which 256 (7%) were admitted directly to ICU, it found.