CANBERRA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Australians have been urged to get vaccinated against influenza amid a nationwide spike in cases.

According to updated data published by the federal Department of Health and Aged Care on Wednesday, there have been 72,360 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in Australia since the start of 2025, including 2,184 cases since the beginning of May.

At the end of May 2024, Australia had reported 73,639 confirmed cases of the flu. The country reported a record-high 365,580 influenza cases and over 1,000 deaths.

The spike in cases heading into the Australian winter has prompted medical authorities to issue urgent reminders for Australians to get vaccinated.

Max Mollenkopf, deputy chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners branch covering the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the state of New South Wales, said it had been an "awful" start to the year.

"Which is pretty ominous when we're so early in the season and it's pretty spooky to think about what might happen over the next few months," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

He said there is a degree of "vaccine fatigue" in the community, but medical authorities hope to get people back on track.

Of the 72,360 confirmed cases so far in 2025, Australians aged 0-4 and 5-9 were the most affected age groups, accounting for 22.7 percent of all cases.

Under the National Immunization Program, influenza vaccinations are free for Australians younger than five, pregnant women, Indigenous Australians, and those older than 65.

The ACT government on Tuesday announced a series of free pop-up vaccination clinics for children across Canberra and surrounding areas.

Kerryn Coleman, the ACT's Chief Health Officer, said the annual vaccination offered the "best protection" against influenza. ■