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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-04-30 Daily Xml
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Influenza Vaccinations

The Hon. C. BONAROS (14:37): Did the minister consult personally with the Chief Medical Officer and SA Health executives about the early onset of the flu season, and why wasn't the department—or does the minister believe that the department was not prepared for the predicted early onset of the flu season?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:37): I think it is really important for me to reject that assertion. I do not believe the department was not ready. Also, I think it is really important for us to remember the context here. We are experiencing influenza notifications that are unprecedented since these forms of records were taken. What I mean by that is that my understanding is that notifiable conditions were not reported in this way until 2007, but we have not had such a large number of notifications and such an early large number of notifications since 2007. So I think it is really important that we back our clinicians but back our public health team. They are working to deliver an effective response, and an effective response will require full public cooperation.

To make sure that there is clear, consistent clinical advice, I am not going to be commenting on clinical issues. I will be making sure that I do not get in the way of the people of South Australia getting the clear, consistent clinical advice from the public health team.

In terms of public health, public health teams act with a significant degree of independence. The last thing that people want is for public health clinicians to get every decision signed off by the minister. So the decision to bring forward the flu vaccinations by about a month was a decision of the public health clinicians, a decision which I am very grateful for. I believe it will be an important early step in dealing with what looks like being a very significant influenza event this year.

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