Influenza cases have dropped across NSW but people are still being urged to get vaccinated.

NSW Health said 6187 people contracted the virus in the past week, a 14 per cent decrease on the previous seven days.

The biggest decline was in the five-to-16 age group, as a consequence of children interacting less over the school holidays.

Queensland has called for other states to follow its example and make the flu vaccine free after extending its program to run until the end of August.

Western Australia implemented free influenza vaccinations in May and June, while other states and territories provide complimentary jabs for at-risk groups.

There has been one death in Queensland from the flu this winter, with an 11-year-old girl dying on the Sunshine Coast earlier in July.

A student on the NSW Central Coast also died in July after contracting the virus.

The number of positive results for PCR tests at sentinel laboratories declined over the past week from 21 to 17 per cent.

Presentations to hospital for respiratory illness remained stable, with cases of COVID-19 also declining in NSW.

There has been a drop in the numbers of people presenting to emergency departments with influenza-like illness.

Health experts said earlier in the flu season that the more severe B strain had taken hold, severely impacting children and the elderly.

Influenza B is associated with more severe disease in children, with parents warned to be alert to any symptoms in children now that school has resumed.