Safety surveillance of 2022 seasonal flu vaccines concludes with no safety issues identified

As the Australian flu season winds down, AusVaxSafety has concluded its yearly active safety surveillance of 2022 seasonal influenza (flu) vaccines used in Australia. Over 5 months of surveillance, AusVaxSafety received more than 160,000 completed day 3 safety surveys from individuals who received a flu vaccine and participated in the AusVaxSafety surveillance program. 

Data analysed over the surveillance period were reassuring, with no safety issues identified. The rate of reported vaccine side effects were comparable to those in previous years, and medical attendance rates in the days following vaccination were low across all age groups.

A new more detailed vaccine safety survey – initially developed and used by AusVaxSafety for COVID-19 vaccine surveillance – was used for flu vaccine safety surveillance for first time in 2022. 

This allowed for improved comparison across different flu vaccines and capturing of data on the impact flu vaccination had on an individual’s routine activities. 

Less than 5 per cent of participants reported missing work, study/school or routine duties in the days following flu vaccination, with the majority of these participants missing one day or less. 

AusVaxSafety surveillance included all seasonal flu vaccines used in Australia in 2022: 

• Vaxigrip Tetra 
• Fluarix Tetra
• Afluria Quad (5 years and older) 
• FluQuadri
• Flucelvax Quad (2 years and older)
• Influvac Tetra 
• Fluad Quad (65 years and older)
• Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent (60 years and older) (not used in 2021).

As flu vaccines used in Australia can change yearly and existing vaccines undergo regular formulation changes to ensure optimised protection against predicted circulating strains, ongoing safety surveillance conducted by AusVaxSafety provides reassurance to the public that flu vaccines used are performing as safely as we expect them to in real-world conditions.

AusVaxSafety has conducted yearly surveillance of seasonal flu vaccines since 2014 and will recommence surveillance of seasonal flu vaccines in April 2023 to coincide with the start of the Australian flu season.

View 2022 seasonal flu vaccine safety data here