The free nasal spray aims to lift lagging vaccination rates after record flu season.
Parents of young children in NSW will soon be able to swap tears for a quick sniff, with the state government rolling out a free nasal spray influenza vaccine for children aged two to four years.
The move is part of a push to lift vaccination rates after the state’s worst flu season on record.
The needle-free vaccine will be available through GPs, Aboriginal Medical Services and community pharmacies under the new NSW Nasal Spray Influenza Vaccination Program.
Health officials hope this will help overcome a major barrier to immunisation for young children, a group particularly vulnerable to severe influenza.
The vaccine is delivered as a simple spray into each nostril, avoiding injections altogether.
Only about a quarter (24.4%) of children aged under five years in NSW were vaccinated against influenza in 2025, well below the 40% target outlined in the NSW Immunisation Strategy 2024–2028.
The push comes after a brutal flu season last year that saw more than 24,500 influenza cases recorded in children under five across the state.
Hospitals also felt the strain, with more than 4600 emergency department visits for influenza-like illness and over 960 hospital admissions among children aged under five years, a 40% increase on the previous year.
Across all age groups, NSW logged 186,768 flu notifications in 2025, the highest number on record and a 79% increase compared with 2023.
Dr Kerryn Coleman, executive director of Health Protection NSW, said the “quick, pain-free” nasal spray influenza vaccine was a simple option for children aged two, three and four.
“The injectable influenza vaccine is also now available and we are asking everyone to go out and get vaccinated. The earlier you get vaccinated, the sooner you will be protected,” she said.
“The most important way we can help reduce the spread and try to prevent the prolonged influenza season like we saw last year, is to get you and your family vaccinated.”
NSW health minister Ryan Park said offering a needle-free option could make vaccination easier for families hesitant about injections.
“I know how unsettling it can be for some parents taking a child to receive a vaccine, so being able to offer a needle-free alternative is a real win for those parents,” he said.
“We hope this option will help increase vaccine uptake in this age group, who we know are at higher risk of becoming more seriously unwell from influenza.
“The influenza vaccine is the best chance of protection against serious illness and I urge everyone in NSW to protect themselves and their families this winter.
“If you do get sick this winter, and it’s not an emergency, I encourage everyone to use our out-of-hospital care options, like Healthdirect and our urgent care centres, so we can keep our emergency departments for the people who need them most.”
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Doctors say fear of needles is a major barrier to childhood vaccination, with Royal Australian College of GPs NSW/ACT chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman calling the new program “game-changing”.
“Two thirds of kids, and about a quarter of adults, have a strong fear of needles. As GPs, we know that’s a big barrier to achieving the immunity our young patients need,” she said.
“For these children and their parents, that barrier is now gone. More young children will be vaccinated, and that means fewer families in hospital and less pressure on our health system.
“Everyone over six months old is recommended to get a flu vaccine each year, but it’s especially important for anyone who is under five, over 65, pregnant or at risk of severe illness.
“There were a record number of flu cases in 2025, so we want all of our patients to roll up their sleeves this flu season.”
The nasal spray program will run alongside the existing National Immunisation Program, which provides free injectable flu vaccines for children aged six months to under five, pregnant women, Aboriginal people aged six months and over, adults aged 65 years and older and people with serious health conditions.
Health authorities are urging families to get vaccinated early before winter cases begin to rise again, warning the flu can cause serious illness in young children and place heavy strain on emergency departments during peak season.
