Pediatricians Advise Flu Vaccine for Children

Health researchers note that children at least 6 months old should be vaccinated against influenza as soon as trivalent or the new quadrivalent vaccine is available, according to a statement from the American Academy of pediatrics (AAP).

"Parents should not delay vaccinating their children to obtain a specific vaccine," lead author Henry Bernstein, DO, said in a news release, who is the Red Book Online associate editor, via Medscape. "Influenza virus is unpredictable, and what's most important is that people receive the vaccine soon, so that they will be protected when the virus begins circulating."

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, they have licensed a new quadrivalent influenza vaccine that contains an additional B virus.

Statistics show that anywhere between 3,000 and 49,000 people a year will die from the flu in the United States and up to 200,000 are sick enough to be hospitalized. A lot of this, too, can depend on strains circulating in the area, according to various health officials. For instance, during last year's flu season, over 160 children died from the flu.

That's why pediatricians are emphasizing the importance of getting the vaccine before children start school as many germs can spread in this environment.

Yet for newborns and young infants, the best protection is for the mothers to get vaccinated while pregnant incase of the virus being transmitted to the child. Pregnancy often affects the immune system of an expectant mother with health complications that can be fatal to the child. 

Previous research suggests that the inactivated influenza vaccine could be safely given to many who are allergic to eggs.  

For those thinking of getting the vaccination themselves or for their children, the AAP notes that this new vaccine could potentially be safe for those with egg allergies.

However, many believe that getting the vaccine could be cause other health complications. Health officials try to alert skeptics that this is simply not true. 

"One of the problems that we see with giving millions and millions of doses of vaccines is that people will get other illnesses that aren't influenza near the time that they receive the influenza vaccine and because it's temporally related, they have a tendency to believe the vaccine was responsible," Dr. Michael Brady of Nationwide Children's Hospital and chairman of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the Academy said, via NBC News. "But it's usually something else unrelated to the vaccine and unrelated to influenza." 

Will you be getting a flu shot this year?