Why thousands of Australians are getting sick with a ‘super flu’ that’s NOT Covid – after lockdowns and travel restrictions cause low immunity amid a major change to mask rules
- Epidemiologist Catherine Bennett said weather and Covid created flu outbreak
- She said wet weather kept people indoors while restrictions lowered immunity
- Pharmacists and Woolworths reported a shortage of flu medicine and essentials
- States are set to lift mask mandates from airport terminals by this Friday, June 17
By Ashley Nickel For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 12:04 AEST, 15 June 2022 | Updated: 12:09 AEST, 15 June 2022
Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions have left Australians with low immunity as the country faces a record-breaking flu season.
Chair in Epidemiology at Deakin University Professor Catherine Bennett told Daily Mail Australia Covid restrictions coupled with unseasonable weather are responsible for the 87,989 flu cases reported early this season.
‘After two low flu seasons, in fact virtually no season in 2021, we don’t have the usual cross immunity from recent exposure,’ she said.
‘We had an early start to the flu season this year, partly because as international border restrictions and isolation requirements eased, travellers brought the virus from other countries still coming out of winter.
