Flu Vaccine Decreases Risk of Hospitalization for Children and Teens

Those who are most susceptible to the influenza virus are young children and the elderly. Flu vaccinations aren't necessarily needed by everyone, but a new report from the CDC shows that children who got vaccinated were less likely to be hospitalized.

Flu vaccinations do not always protect the recipient from the virus, but the CDC report found that they prevent more serious complications that the virus can adopt. Those complications typically result in hospitalization for children up to 17 years of age (which the report examined) and the elderly.

The CDC report was based on the examination of 216 children between 6 months of age and 17 years during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 flu seasons. These children were admitted into pediatric intensive care units and the researchers were looking to see who were vaccinated. A total of 44 of the children had the flu and over half of them (55%) were infected with a life-threatening case of the virus and possessed one chronic medical condition that put them at a higher risk for further complications.

The researchers found that children who were vaccinated were much less likely to be admitted into an ICU. Their chances decreased by 74%. But of all the children studied, the CDC found that only 18% of them had been fully vaccinated for the flu, which is a very low number for a demographic that is more likely to catch the virus and develop more serious complications.

Additionally, this report proves even more important after Google has been experiments with their new "Flu Trends." Over the past three flu seasons, the algorithm for the program overestimated the prevalence of the flu, but once they can more accurately estimate its prevalence, it's going to be important for those of a certain age to get vaccinated. Google Flu Trends monitors 29 countries, but is still making progress in terms of the program's effectiveness.

"We're only at the beginning of what's possible with this big-data-style analysis," said Matt Mohebbi, the found of Google Flu Trends, in this New York Times article. "And big data and small data are both very important."

It's not necessarily a bad thing if they're overestimating influenza cases. The virus is ubiquitous worldwide and is extremely contagious, so any precautions should be taken for those who can be put in danger. To read more about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, visit this Fox News article.