01/08/2025
🩺 Not too late to book your flu vaccination!
https://stellarhealthcommunities.book.vitavo.com.au/available-appointments
Flu activity across South Australia has surged by an alarming 70 % this year (ABC). Health officials warn that this flu spike is placing a major strain on our hospitals and GPs. Despite our state having the highest mainland vaccination rate at 32.1 %, the message remains crystal clear: “We still need more people to roll up their sleeves.”
Why get vaccinated now?
• Vaccination remains our best defence against serious illness, hospitalisation, and further spread.
• Flu season has already begun, and vaccines offer the highest protection in the first 3–4 months after administration, covering us through the expected peak in July and August.
Who’s most at risk (and eligible for free vaccinations)?
• Children under 5 years old
• Adults aged 65+
• Pregnant individuals
• Those with chronic illnesses
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
✅ Book your appointment today
It’s not too late—we are still offering flu vaccines for children aged 6 months and older. Protect yourself and your loved ones with a quick jab at our clinic!
Community Vaccination Clinic proudly funded by Country SA PHN
Please read - an open letter from a recently bereaved Australian family, who have given us permission to share their tragic story 💔
"Aabi will forever be two years and nine months old. She was a healthy, happy, active, and fun-loving child – the radiant joy of our lives and the very heart of our home. Her older sister's playful "pet peeve," Aabi had just begun talking endlessly, delighting in dancing, and singing along to music with her sister.
On Tuesday, April 30th 2025, we returned to Perth after a month-long holiday visiting family in India. Not quite ready to leave the special attention she'd received, Aabi was reluctant to go back to daycare, repeatedly saying, "Mumma, no school, Aabi go home." With unpacking and errands ahead, I restarted her daycare attendance the very next day, Wednesday and Thursday, while her sister returned to school. By Friday, May 2nd, Aabi was back home with me, seemingly fine, enjoying an extended bath time, singing songs, and her usual playful activities.
Saturday, May 3rd, began normally. After her routine banana and milk, Aabi vomited about an hour later. I initially thought it was due to her energetic play with her sister. As I cleaned her, I noticed she felt lukewarm. I settled her, gave her a dose of paracetamol syrup, and she mentioned a slight headache. A gentle forehead massage seemed to help, and her fever subsided. By evening, she was playing again, eating some rice and strawberries. Later that night, a mild fever returned, accompanied by another headache complaint. Another dose of paracetamol, more massaging, and she drifted to sleep. Her fever rose significantly in the night but settled an hour after the medicine.
Sunday, May 4th, she woke as usual, enjoying two biscuits with my tea, her milk, and then a banana. She was playing, singing, and seemed well. Relieved, I started my regular Sunday household tasks while the girls entertained themselves. Around 11 AM, she started warming up again, complaining of a headache. I gave her medicine and settled her down, massaging her head as she became drowsy, trying to sleep. I sat beside her, waiting for the fever to drop, but it kept climbing. After an hour, I gave her another high-fever medication, but it didn't help. I began tepid sponging. This time, I used a thermometer; it read 40.6°C. Panicked, I immediately called a friend, and we rushed her to the emergency department. My husband, at work, said he would join us as soon as he found a replacement.
Upon reaching the hospital, Aabi vomited, remaining drowsy. She was attended to immediately, but due to severe dehydration from the high fever, establishing an IV line was incredibly difficult, taking over 30 minutes and more than four attempts across various sites. It felt like she deteriorated significantly and too quickly. By the time emergency medications, for suspected flu, sepsis, or meningitis, could be administered, she had a gentle seizure – likely febrile, but enough to warrant an anti-seizure medication to calm her. They continued their efforts, drawing blood, observing, and considering scans to pinpoint the problem.
Her blood results came back positive for Influenza. Fluids and antivirals were already being pushed. The decision was made to perform a CT scan and then transfer her to the ICU, as she was highly febrile and partially unconscious.
I believe we lost her at that point. As soon as she reached the ICU, she had to be intubated. The CT scan wasn't fully indicative of the problem's severity; an MRI would be necessary. But from that moment, her pupils were non-responsive, and she was beyond anyone's help.
The MRI confirmed total brain death due to acute necrotising encephalitis, a devastating complication of the influenza infection. The virus's rapid progression, with such minimal initial symptoms – just a normal fever and headache, which so many children her age experience regularly – gave us no indication of the extreme seriousness of the situation.
We lost our beautiful Aabi at the hands of what seemed like a "mere virus."
Even if she had been vaccinated at the beginning of May, the typical time for flu vaccinations in WA, it would have taken around 10 days for the vaccine to become effective. I replay the events endlessly, debating what could have been done better, what could have been done differently to have her with us today. Multiple meetings with the emergency and ICU teams confirmed they would have managed this in the same way every time. If I had brought her in a day earlier, a mild fever, a mild headache, and a single vomit would not have been indicative of anything serious enough for action beyond a prescription for Panadol.
She did not give us the time to react, to fight, to do anything for her.
If only someone had advised me of the genetic predispositions that might have been the cause. Doctors suspect her immune system responded much more aggressively than usual to this infection, leading to acute inflammation and severe damage to her brain. I wish we had known this was something we should be alert to for our babies.
Aabi was a blessing we had for too short a time. Our lives remain incomplete, and we wish no parent ever has to endure this ordeal.
Wishing safe and lovely moments to all babies.
Grieved and broken, Aabi's family"
