West Australians are being urged to hold off on getting their flu shots early this year despite a push from pharmacies telling people to get vaccinated now.

More than 1400 cases of the flu have been diagnosed in Perth in the past eight weeks, almost double the number of infections reported this time last year and three times more than in 2017.

People aged over 70 have been worst affected, followed by those in their 50s and children under nine.

The Health Department reported in its last Virus Watch bulletin that flu activity remained well above what was typically reported at this time of year. The WA cases have been mostly influenza A virus (93 per cent), with some influenza B virus.

In spite of the alarming figures, Australian Medical Association WA president Omar Khorshid said doctors’ advice was to stick to the regular time line when it came to getting the flu vaccine.

“We’re disappointed with the behaviour of some pharmacies,” he said. “It appears to be commercially motivated behaviour, rather than doing the best thing for the people.

“We had quite an unusual spike in flu cases this summer and hence the high current figures. But what we are expecting to see is a drop-off of those numbers, which is what we’re seeing now.”

A data analysis by The West Australian revealed the number of flu cases reported to the Department of Health in the past month has fallen on a week-by-week basis compared to the two months prior.

Dr Khorshid said the winter flu typically was worst in July and August and warned that if people were vaccinated now, their immunity would wear off before that critical period.

“We strongly recommend people to get their flu vaccine at the right time of the year, not now,” he said. “Stick to late May and early June.”

People who are at higher risk of infection are urged to talk to their doctor about getting the vaccine early.

For everyone else, the AMA recommendation is to wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and stay home when sick.

“It is still a very contagious virus and it tends to rip through the community,” Dr Khorshid said. “The flu kills more people than any other transmissible disease.”