CDC recommending flu vaccine for children over 6 months

July 27, 8:16 AMOrlando Parenting ExaminerRobyn Kurth

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A vaccine for the H1N1 (swine flu) virus is
still in the works, but the CDC is recommending
that children over the age of 6 months be
immunized for this season's strain of influenza.

With a vaccine for the H1N1 (swine flu) virus in the works, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging parents to have their children ages 6 months to 18 months vaccinated for influenza this fall as soon as the 2009 - 2010 influenza vaccine is available. The recommendations appeared in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that was released by the CDC last Friday.

Because the flu virus mutates constantly, the vaccines usually—but not always--change from year to year. A vaccine for influenza has not been approved for children under 6 months old, but since young infants are even more vulnerable to the flu, the CDC recommends that members of their household and their caregivers are vaccinated. Since children have the highest rate of flu transmission, giving children a flu vaccine has the potential to reduce transmission and infection rates.

According to the CDC report, “Vaccine effectiveness studies also have indicated that 2 doses are needed to provide adequate protection during the first season that young children are vaccinated. Among children aged <5 years who have never received influenza vaccine previously or who received only 1 dose of influenza vaccine in their first year of vaccination, vaccine effectiveness is lower compared with children who received 2 doses in their first year of being vaccinated.”

The CDC reports that children at greatest risk for complications from seasonal flu are:

1. Children younger than 6 months old
2. Children aged 6 months up to their 5th birthday
3. Children aged 6 months and older with chronic health problems, including:
     • asthma or other problems of the lungs;
     • immune suppression;
     • chronic kidney disease; 
     • heart disease;
     • HIV/AIDS
     • diabetes;
     • sickle cell anemia; or
     • long-term aspirin therapy;
     • Any condition that can reduce lung function (cognitive dysfunction, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, or other neuromuscular disorders).

For more info: Read a related story from the American Academy of Family Physicians HERE. Read more about precautions against the H1N1 virus HERE. Find out where to take your children in Orlando when the pediatrician's office is closed HERE.