Email this page  Print this page  del.icio.us  digg  yahoo!  Comments

Ounce of prevention

Proactively getting vaccine protects your children from influenza

It is already December, when Arizona’s temperatures are finally taking a dip into the chilly numbers. If your children have not yet received influenza shots, now is the time to get them into the doctor’s office.

Flu vaccines are updated yearly because the viruses change annually. Even if you or your children received flu shots last year, you both still need to get a flu shot to be protected this season. Flu season can occur any time from November through April, so receiving a flu shot in December or later still offers protection in most years.

Healthy children 6 months to 9 years of age who are receiving flu shots for the first time will need two doses of vaccine the first year they are vaccinated, advises the Centers for Disease Control.

The child’s immune system is “primed” with the first dose; the second dose provides immune protection. It usually takes about two weeks after the second dose for the immunity protection to start.

The CDC made a change in its recommendation that provides for broader age coverage for influenza. It now recommends that healthy children ages 6 months up through their 5^th birthday, their close contacts (family members) and out-of-home caregivers should get a flu vaccine. This expands the CDC’s 2006 recommendation to now include vaccination for children 2 to 5 years old.

Children younger than 6 months are too young for the flu vaccine. The CDC says the best way to protect babies is to make sure their caregivers and family members have been vaccinated.

All very young children (less than 2 years of age) are very susceptible to contracting the flu. They often end up being hospitalized. The CDC estimates that each year in the U.S. there are more than 20,000 children younger than 5 who are hospitalized due to the flu.

The CDC also recommends a flu vaccine for any child with chronic health problems from 6 months to 18 years, including:

Asthma or other problems of the lungs

Immune suppression

Chronic kidney disease

Heart disease

Sickle cell anemia, or

Long-term aspirin therapy

Any condition that can compromise
respiratory function.