On Tuesday 27th May, the Student Representative Council (SRC) will be holding a free influenza vaccine drive for all undergraduate students. The vaccine drive will be occurring between 9am and 12pm on Tuesday at the University of Sydney Camperdown campus.
In New South Wales alone, there have been over 30,000 confirmed cases of influenza between May 2024 and May 2025. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) released a statement noting that, of the 48,490 reported cases across Australia in the first few months of 2025, many of the cases were children and young adults. Of these, 30 per cent were between the ages of 1 and 14.
With the reported cases in Australia seeing an increase of over 50 per cent in comparison to previous years, experts are urging people to get their flu vaccine as early as possible. Between January 2025 and March 2025, the Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 84 deaths by influenza, and 516 deaths by COVID-19.
The SRC Disability Collective (DisCo) set up a ‘Mask Up!’ campaign at USyd in 2024, with the aim to promote “masking on and around campus”. A form for requesting free masks to wear to social and political events was sent out and available to students through the SRC DisCo’s social media accounts. In Disability Honi 2025, SRC Ethno-Cultural Officer Kayla Hill published an article on the importance of masking around campus, and how this would ensure better accessibility for immunocompromised people.
The flu vaccine drive campaign follows the findings that the university offers staff free vaccinations, but did not extend this offer to students. With the cost-of-living being noted by various specialists as a major cause of the decrease in uptake of the influenza vaccine, students are in a more vulnerable position when it comes to accessing healthcare.
Organiser and SRC General Secretary Grace Street told Honi: “This free vaccination program is an important part of a larger campaign to protect vulnerable people in our university and local communities and to raise awareness about masking and preventing the spread of viruses or diseases.
“During the current health and cost-of-living crisis facing young people and marginalised communities, it’s so important for the SRC to provide an accessible and free opportunity for students to get vaccinated. Equally, we should be doing everything we can to prevent the spread of viruses that can lead to huge medical bills (particularly for those without Medicare, such as international students) or needing an expensive or inaccessible doctor’s note for missed classes or assessments.
“This importantly highlights the University’s disregard for student safety — it is providing free vaccinations for staff, so why not for students?”
SRC Disability Officers Remy Lebreton and Vince Tafea commented: “The safety of the community at large depends on all of us playing our part and getting vaccinated. But, it’s hard for students to play their part under the immense financial pressure that we all find ourselves in.
“Vaccinations should be free, not something you have to budget for. We are so so proud of DisCo’s very own Grace Street spearheading this initiative.
“It is a testament to what can and should be done but is often sorely neglected by those outside disabilities advocacy spaces.
“Thank you Grace!!”
Sign up for the flu vaccine drive on Tuesday 27th May here.
