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May 8, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Vaccine Panel Urges Flu Shots for Babies"

Philadelphia Inquirer (inq.philly.com) (05/06/02) P. E01; Fitzgerald, Susan

New and stronger recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices encouraging flu shots for healthy infants and toddlers are a sign of change for the committee after reviewing evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that infants are as likely to be hospitalized due to flu complication as the elderly.  Dr. Keiji Fukuda, chief of epidemiology in the CDC's Influenza Branch, said that most people, including physicians and parents, do not fully appreciate how the flu impacts young children.  Flu is sometimes treated as little more than a nuisance in small children, said Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the CDC immunization panel, but it can cause critical respiratory complications and lead to breathing conditions that require hospital care.  Whether parents will follow the new recommendations remains to be seen, as parents may be reluctant to add another shot to the already long list of vaccines that infants and toddlers require, and children receiving the flu shot for the first time will actually need to get two doses, six months apart, for proper protection. Fukuda noted that before the shot is officially recommended for young children, several issues need to be addressed, including logistical concerns about handling "the extra number of kids coming in for immunizations over a short period of time" and whether or not insurance providers would pay for the shots.

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.