Aussies have vented their frustration at getting sick despite the end of winter, with vaccine hesitancy blamed for a rise in sick people visiting hospitals in NSW.
Sick residents have come forward in droves to complain about a range of symptoms that have left them bedridden.
‘What kind of bug is going around in Sydney at the moment?’ one person said.
They described experiencing flank and back pain, abdominal cramps, nausea and severe respiratory symptoms.
‘I have it, everyone at my work has it (nurse). My non healthcare friends and family have it,’ they said.
Other Aussies said they had been experiencing the same thing.
‘Feel like garbage. It’s been seven days and it’s been through the whole family,’ one said.
‘It seems I’m not alone, heaps of people have been pretty sick this cold season,’ a second added.
‘I mean I didn’t get any vaccinations this year and my vitamin D level is extremely low, but heaps of people have been pretty sick.’
The complaints come after the NSW health system was bombarded with record emergency department admissions at the start of August.
A little under 10,000 patients presented themselves to hospitals in Sydney on August 3, making it the ‘biggest ever recorded winter day in history’.
The latest NSW Health surveillance report found emergency department admissions increased throughout August, increasing sharply in the final weeks of the month.
The sharp uptick came despite the country moving closer to spring, which officially started on September 1.
‘ED presentations and admissions for Influenza-like illness increased,’ the NSW Health surveillance report stated.
‘Influenza-like illness presentations for all children aged less than 10 years increased.
‘ED presentations and admissions for bronchiolitis in children under 5 years of age increased.’
NSW health minister, Ryan Park blamed vaccine hesitancy for the record-breaking number of emergency department admissions at the start of August.
‘We have had vaccine hesitancy off the back of Covid … and this is what health systems are dealing with, not just in our country, but around the world,’ he said.
‘We need to change that.’
Park said it had been difficult trying to encourage residents to get the vaccine despite it being affordable.
The influenza vaccine can cost as little as $15 for residents, unless they are under the age of five, in which case it is free.
The vaccine is also free for those aged over 64 or for vulnerable people.