If there was ever a year to make cold and flu prevention your number-one priority, this is it. Here is everything you should know about the two types of influenza vaccines kids should have this year.
H1N1 is especially dangerous for children. Pregnant women are also at high risk: Although they represent only 1 percent of the population, they accounted for 5 percent of the deaths from H1N1. Pregnant women who get H1N1 are also at higher risk for fetal distress, premature delivery, and emergency c-sections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its annual flu shot advice to include everyone over 6 months old. That means you, even if you got both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 vaccine last year, because your immunity decreases over time and this year's shot includes a new strain. And even if you're pregnant, no matter what trimester you're in. Until now, the vaccine had been recommended only for children under 18, adults over 49, and those at special risk because of a medical condition and their caregivers.
There is no convincing evidence that the flu vaccine is unsafe for children (or adults), says Daniel Frattarelli, M.D., a pediatrician at Oakwood Hospital, in Dearborn, Michigan.
Public-health officials are concerned about the increasing number of kids with influenza who also develop pneumonia caused by the antibioticresistant bacterium known as MRSA. The flu is caused by a virus— and the vaccine has no effect on bacteria—but catching the flu makes some kids more susceptible to these potentially life-threatening bacteria.
Get the vaccine early because influenza typically gains momentum as the temperature drops. "In my family, we always try to get it before Halloween," says Carrie Byington, M.D., a member of the AAP's Committee on Infectious Diseases.
