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By Vivian Richardson, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Flu season is right around the corner, and doctors are urging parents to make sure their children get vaccinated before it's too late.
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A new study reveals parents should not worry about their children getting sick because of the flu shot. Some may believe that a flu shot could cause their child to get the flu or cause other side effects. In fact, the study showed children between ages 6 months and 23 months were less likely to visit the doctor with problems like asthma, cough, and the common cold in the two weeks following the vaccination.
Influenza is more than a cold. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and about 36,000 people die from the flu and its complications every year in the United States. The elderly and young children are among the most susceptible. Two years ago, the CDC recommended all kids between 6 months and 23 months be vaccinated.
To ensure the vaccine was safe for children in this age group, Simon J. Hambidge, M.D., Ph.D., from Kaiser Permanente Colorado in Denver, and his colleagues studied what happened in the two weeks after almost 70,000 injections of the flu vaccine. "Influenza is a really nasty illness and can cause a lot of complications in this age group. Our study should offer a lot of reassurance to doctors and to parents alike about how safe the vaccine is in this age group," Dr. Hambidge told Ivanhoe.
There was a slight increase in the number of children visiting the doctor's office for vomiting and diarrhea after getting the shot. "We don't think that the vaccine is causing that, though we can't rule it out. We actually think the kids were being exposed to intestinal viruses at a very low level around the time they're getting the shot," Dr. Hambidge said.
The study demonstrated how important it is for children with asthma to be vaccinated. "What we found was actually a decreased number of visits for asthma in the two weeks after the vaccine, so certainly we didn't find any evidence that it was making it worse," Dr. Hambidge said.
Influenza season usually starts in late fall. As of Oct. 20, the CDC reports only sporadic reports of flu infections in just 10 states. Dr. Hambidge says right now is the best time for the youngest kids to be vaccinated. If it's their first flu shot, kids will need two shots one month apart. "It's really important to start that right now so these kids can be protected before the flu hits."
Next, researchers will be evaluating the safety of flu vaccines in kids between 2 years and 5 years old.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Simon J. Hambidge, M.D., Ph.D., of Kaiser Permanente Colorado in Denver; The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2006;296:1990-1997
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