People have also been urged to get their Covid-19 booster shot, with the number of Queenslanders hospitalised with the virus more than doubling recently.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman on Thursday announced the state government would commit $40 million to fund free flu jabs from 2024, saying she was concerned about low vaccination numbers.

Queenslanders over the age of six months will be able to get the free shot from the start of the flu season in March 2024.

It extends the state’s free programs of the past two years, in which more than 900,000 people took advantage.

Numbers significantly dropped in 2023, however, with just a third of Queenslanders being vaccinated.

The state recently held its first vaccine summit to discuss ways to boost numbers.

“With cost of living a concern for so many families right now, making the flu vaccine free is absolutely critical to boosting those vaccination rates,” Fentiman said.

Misinformation may also be contributing to low rates, the health minister said.

“I absolutely do believe that coming out of Covid we are seeing increased vaccine hesitancy and vaccine fatigue,” she said.

“At our vaccine summit we talked a lot about how we can do more to combat misinformation on social media and get the message out there that vaccinations are safe and they are needed to continue to protect families and the community.

“In a post-Covid world we are seeing more misinformation, we are seeing more vaccine hesitancy.”

Queensland’s chief health officer Dr John Gerrard also wanted people to be mindful of Covid-19 booster shots, with another wave of the virus hitting the state.

The number of people in Queensland hospitals with Covid-19 is currently 207 after holding steady for months around 75.

It is much less than the last major wave that hit the state in 2022 which peaked at 1000 patients.

“The number is not big yet but the numbers are climbing steadily,” Gerrard said.

“This seems to be happening around the country not just Queensland.”

He expected the latest wave to be over by Christmas.

Gerrard said the majority of current Covid-19 patients were over the age of 65 and had not had a booster shot in the last calendar year.

“If you are over the age of 65 now and have not had a booster this year you should think about getting one,” he said.

“It is particularly important if you are over the age of 75.”