{"id":620495,"date":"2026-04-21T03:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T03:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/620495\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T03:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T03:02:13","slug":"free-rsv-jab-rollout-for-seniors-ahead-of-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/620495\/","title":{"rendered":"Free RSV jab rollout for seniors ahead of winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Older Australians will soon be able to access free protection against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), with the Federal Government rolling out a major pre-winter vaccination program aimed at reducing serious illness and hospitalisations.<\/p>\n

From May 15, 2026, Australians aged 75 and over, along with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 60 and over, will be eligible for a free RSV vaccine through their GP, pharmacy, immunisation clinic or community and Aboriginal health service.<\/p>\n

The $445.3 million investment will see the vaccine Arexvy\u00ae added to the National Immunisation Program (NIP), removing a cost that would otherwise sit at around $300 per dose.<\/p>\n

Federal Member for Bonner Kara Cook said the move was designed to protect some of the community\u2019s most vulnerable residents ahead of the winter illness season.<\/p>\n

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\u201cRSV can have serious impacts, particularly for older Australians, including those in aged care and older First Nations communities,\u201d Ms Cook said.<\/p>\n

RSV is a common respiratory virus but can lead to severe illness and hospitalisation, particularly among older people and those with underlying health conditions or living in aged care settings.<\/p>\n

Ms Cook said making the vaccine free was a practical measure to improve community health outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking the RSV vaccine free for older Australians is a practical step to keep our community safe and healthy, especially as we head into winter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about removing cost barriers so more people can access the protection they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rollout builds on existing free vaccinations available under the NIP, including influenza and COVID-19, with health authorities continuing to urge eligible Australians to stay up to date with their annual flu shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know respiratory illnesses like RSV and influenza can have serious impacts, particularly for older Australians and those in aged care,\u201d Ms Cook said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI encourage everyone who is eligible to speak with their GP or pharmacist and make sure they\u2019re protected this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Bonner, the program means older residents will be able to access the vaccine locally through a range of healthcare providers, as part of broader efforts to strengthen preventative health care across the community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Older Australians will soon be able to access free protection against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), with the Federal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620496,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,137],"class_list":{"0":"post-620495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}