Experts warn Australians are underestimating flu risk as winter looms

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australia-flu-cases-down-2026-experts-warn-risk-remains/w11fju6ws

21 points · 3 comments · view on lemmy.world

3 Comments

maegul@lemmy.ml · 10 pts · 137d (2 replies)

I think there’s just a basic lack of understanding out there.

I’ve recently encountered a few people who didn’t know that “flu” is just one particular virus/pathogen. So whenever they got sick after having the flu vaccine they figured it didn’t help anything at all.

Of course there’s likely some post COVID anti-vax sentiment mixed in there. But it was conspicuous how little basic information was understood.

FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 137d (1 reply)

I get annoyed when people say that they have the flu

They have a cold. If they have influenza, they'd fucking well know it

Australia is great because it's laid back, but sometimes it's a touch too laid back about things and Aussies have a habit of not worrying about something until they're personally affected

repomonkey@aussie.zone · 4 pts · 137d

If they have influenza, they’d fucking well know it

100%. I had full-blown influenza in my mid-20s, when I was the ideal age to fight it and extremely fit - and it well and truly fucked me up. I was completely out of it for three weeks in bed and it wasn't until about six months later that I began to feel even remotely like my old self. If you've ever actually had influenza, you never call the 'sniffles' the flu ever again.