Kids and Flu Vaccine

Kids and Flu

Flu season typically peaks between December and March, and so now is the time that those most at risk need to get the shot. But there’s some confusion about which children should get it this year because of the shortage. It's the same, but a little different when it comes to kids and flu shots.

"Each year it seems that the recommendation for who should get the flu vaccine seem to increase and this year the American Academy of Pediatrics along with the ACIP did expand their recommendation, however in the current situation we are back to what we recommended last year," says pediatrician, Dr. Christina Sullivan of Montefiore Medical Center.

This week the CDC announced that beginning immediately, about 14.2 million doses of vaccine will be allocated over the next 6-8 weeks through Aventis Pasteur contracts directly to high-priority vaccine providers.

These include including hospitals, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and private providers who care for young children. The plan is to make sure the vaccine gets to those who need it the most, and not to those who are in the lowest risk categories, such as healthy young adults who might otherwise get it in a mass flu shot program.

All children from six months to 23 months of age should get vaccinated. Also, any child or adult for that matter with chronic illness, such as asthma, diabetes, or heart or lung problems should get the flu shot as well. And children up to age 18 who are on aspirin therapy need to get vaccinated.

"Generally speaking the younger you are or the older are, you are at higher risk. For example last year most of the hospitalizations were related to flu in children that were 2 years or younger," says Dr. Sullivan. The flu vaccine for kids is targeted towards the same strains as adults, but the doses are different. From 6 months to 34 months of age, children get half the amount that adults get. Those at risk should get vaccinated now. According to Dr. Sullivan, "anyone with any underlying medical condition is very much a high risk because it takes longer to recover from the flu and it makes any underlying condition worse."

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