NSW children between six months and five years old will be eligible for free flu jabs this winter, following last year's horror flu season.
It's part of a $3.5 million influenza vaccination program announced by Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her health minister on Tuesday.
"The program will target more than 400,000 children to ensure better protection for them and the wider community," Ms Berejiklian said.
Last year's flu season was the most severe in NSW since the 2009 pandemic, with more than 12,000 confirmed cases of the flu in children aged under five.
In total, more than 100,000 thousand people contracted the flu in NSW in 2017, almost triple the previous year.
NSW Australian Medical Association president Professor Brad Frankum described the initiative as a "smart move".
"Given the bad flu season we had in 2017, taking steps to increase rates of immunisation for people most vulnerable to its worst complications is a smart move by the government," Prof Frankum said in a statement.
"Children and the elderly are more likely to suffer serious harm from the flu and it's important that they get the best protection available."
NSW's opposition health spokesman Walt Secord said the free injections were a "necessary first step" in controlling the flu.
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