Opposition jabs Cook Government over free flu vaccines as hospitals brace for winter crisis to hit

There’s a push for free flu vaccines to be offered earlier, and for longer, as Perth hospitals brace for winter. The Opposition is calling for the vaccination campaign to start in April instead of May, and for the jabs to be free for everyone for six months. Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam said cost should not be a barrier. “Under the current program many providers can still charge a consultation or service fee, which means some families face out-of-pocket costs just to get vaccinated,” she said. “At a time when Western Australians are already under significant cost-of-living pressure, the Government should remove every barrier to vaccination and make sure people can access the flu shot completely free of charge.” She’s also urging the Government to consider pop-up vaccine clinics in shopping centres to boost vaccination rates that fell across all age groups last year, as low as 15.3 per cent for five to 15 year olds. Less that 60 per cent of seniors over 60 got the jab in 2025. Free influenza vaccines were extended for an extra month last year, as hospitalisations surged above the five-year average. The Cook Government has announced it has secured 130,000 doses of the FluMist intranasal spray for children aged 2 to under 12, as part of its $140 million winter strategy for 2026. But Ms Mettam has called for the vaccine program to roll-out earlier and described the winter strategy as a “sham” after record ambulance ramping in February, and claims two operating theatres at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital could be closed for months for maintenance. “Our hospitals are already under greater pressure than they were this time last year,” she said. “Last year the Cook Labor Government kept blaming a bad winter flu season for a lack of hospital beds and record ambulance ramping. Now we hear warnings about another severe flu season, yet we are seeing not enough effort to boost vaccination rates. “Western Australians deserve a Government that acts early and takes preventative steps to keep people out of hospital.”