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June 06, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Universal Influenza Immunization in Children Is at Least One Year Away”

Infectious Diseases in Children (www.idinchildren.com) (05/03) Vol. 16, No. 5, P. 17; Bechtel, Bryan

The rise in interest in vaccinating adults against traditional winter illnesses like influenza has put the diseases' effects on children on the back burner, though health experts say that a universal influenza vaccine recommendation for children would probably have a great impact on children's health.  Notes Kathleen M. Neuzil, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, flu outbreaks throughout the 20th century were most dangerous to children and the elderly.  In addition, influenza causes significant morbidity among children, often linked with respiratory syncytial virus, a connection that can be difficult to find without laboratory testing, according to Neuzil. She indicates that the introduction of a universal flu vaccine among children may only reduce the rate of respiratory illness by between 15 percent and 30 percent, but that change could have far-reaching effects in other ailments, such as otitis media, pneumonia, croup, and sepsis.  Yet a full-scale recommendation for flu immunization in children is problematic, given the disease's antigenic shifts each year, which require yearly vaccinations.  Furthermore, children under the age of nine years who are receiving the vaccine for the first time require two doses for immunity, which complicates the schedule.