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'No Flu Shots for My Kids'
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> Research by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases suggests that many American mothers don't believe it's important to consistently vaccinate their children against the seasonal flu.
That may help explain lagging vaccination rates in the pediatric population.
For the 2008-09 flu season, only 12 percent of 5-to 10-year-olds, 12.7 percent of 11- to 12-year-olds and 9.1 percent of 13- to 18-year-olds were fully vaccinated, according to an analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccination rates were somewhat higher for children aged 6 months to 23 months (28.9 percent) and 2 to 4 years (21.8 percent).
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Parents are also divided over the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Only 40 percent plan to have their children vaccinated, according to a poll by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich. In an Associated Press poll, 38 percent of parents said they were unlikely to allow their kids to get the vaccination at school.
Beginning with the 2008-09 flu season, the CDC began recommending seasonal flu vaccine for all children 6 months to 18 years of age, not just those at high risk of flu complications because of chronic health conditions or compromised immune systems. It also recommends the H1N1 vaccine for infants, children and young adults, from 6 months old to 24 years old.
Dr. Lawrence B. Palevsky, a pediatrician with the Northport (N.Y.) Wellness Center and president and co-founder of the Holistic Pediatric Association, said he understands parental concerns.
"The dogmatic view that vaccines are safe and effective is being met with a considerable amount of attention, which is warranted and needed," he said.
Yet government officials and infectious disease experts warn that the flu can make children very sick, cause them to miss school and possibly lead to hospitalization and death.
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Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 10/9/2009
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SOURCES: Margaret Park, R.D., mother, Manassas Park, Va.; Lawrence B. Palevsky, M.D., FAAP, ABHM, pediatrician, Northport (N.Y.) Wellness Center, and president and co-founder, Holistic Pediatric Association, Media, Pa.; Carol J. Baker, M.D., FAAP, FIDSA, professor, pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and chair, Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition, New York City; Michael T. Brady, M.D., FAAP, physician-in-chief, infectious diseases, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, and chair, pediatrics, Ohio State University College of Medicine, and member, Committee on Infectious Diseases, American Academy of Pediatrics; Jo-Lynne, mother, Philadelphia area; National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, news release, Sept. 10, 2009; Oct. 2, 2009, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta; Sept. 24, 2009, news release, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich.
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