Tackle The Flu and Take Home a Shirt

Image Supplied:  DDHHS / The DDHHS Coordinator Indigenous Cultural Practices, Rica Lacey, models the tackle flu t-shirt.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members in Oakey are encouraged to ‘tackle flu’ this season by visiting the Darling Downs Public Health Unit’s (DDPHU) annual influenza vaccination clinic at Oakey on Wednesday 10 May.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over who receive their flu vaccine at the clinic will also receive a free T-shirt designed by Toowoomba artist David McCarthy.

For the past six years, the DDPHU has delivered clinics across the Darling Downs as part of the Tackle Flu Before It Tackles You campaign, offering free flu vaccinations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The clinic will return to Oakey this year on Wednesday 10 May at Goondir Health Services on Campbell Street between 10am and 2pm.

Since the program’s inception in 2011, the Tackle Flu campaign has vaccinated close to 4000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the Darling Downs region.

Dr Hutchinson hopes to see even more people vaccinated this year.

“It takes just a few minutes of your time and can keep you safe from severe influenza,” she said.

Dr Hutchinson said that as well as an annual vaccination, there are simple additional measures that can be taken to prevent the spread of the flu.

“Washing your hands thoroughly, throwing tissues away immediately after sneezing and staying home when you are sick are easy to do and can make a big difference in keeping the flu at bay,” she said