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FRIDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Since children under the age of 5 are at particular risk for complications from the H1N1 swine flu, U.S. health officials issued new guidelines Friday designed to limit the spread of the virus in early childhood programs, such as day-care centers and Head Start programs.
"While we think everybody should take the flu seriously, children less than 5 years old are at high risk for complications from the flu," U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said during a morning press conference. "Tragically, children do die, whether it's H1N1 or seasonal flu."
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Sebelius noted that the new H1N1 swine flu is "a young people's disease," that can spread quickly in schools and child-care settings. Children tend to share toys, cough and sneeze and not wash their hands, making early childhood programs a great incubator for these germs to spread rapidly," she noted.
To combat the spread of the swine flu, children in early child-care programs should be at the front of the line to get the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available in mid-October, Sebelius said. Children should also get a seasonal flu shot, which is available now, she added.
In addition, since children under 6 months of age can't get these vaccines, Sebelius stressed the need for parents, caregivers and day-care staffers to get vaccinated to protect their children and themselves. And, since pregnant women are also at high risk for complications from the H1N1 flu, they should also get their flu shots, she said.
"We believe the vaccines are safe," Sebelius said. "By the time the H1N1 vaccine is ready to go, we will know it is safe. We won't release it until we know the proper dosage and we know it's safe."
If children or day-care staffers get the swine flu, they should stay home and remain there for 24 hours after their fever subsides without using any fever-reducing medications, Sebelius said.
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