With influenza season beginning Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending for the first time that all children, not just the very young, be vaccinated.
School-age children are most likely to get infected with flu and to spread it, recent studies have found. Also, unpublished CDC data show that deaths among children infected with both influenza and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria rose during the last four flu seasons.
The new recommendation is part of a broader effort by public health authorities to achieve universal vaccination against the flu, meaning that everyone who can get vaccinated does so.
Also this season, vaccine manufacturers are distributing a record number of shots with no thimerosal, a preservative that contains mercury. Some parents believe thimerosal is linked to autism, though science has not found a connection.
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Revised age recommendations
Existing: 6 mos.
Added: 5 years
What is the flu?
A contagious respiratory illness caused by flu viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness and at times can lead to death. Symptoms may include:
* Fever (usually high)
* Headache
* Fatigue
* Cough
* Sore throat
* Body aches
* Runny or stuffy nose
* Diarrhea and vomiting (more common among children than adults)
Will this year’s flu season be bad?
There’s no way to know, experts say.
But we do know that in the U.S. on average:
200,000 hospitalizations result each year from flu complications. Ten percent of those hospitalized are under 18.
5% to 20% of the population will get the flu this year.
36,000 deaths result each year from flu complications.
Vaccination is recommended for:
* Children 6 months through 18 years of age
* Pregnant women
* People 50 and older
* People with chronic medical conditions
* People in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
* People living with someone at high risk for flu complications
* People living with or caring for children younger than 6 months
* Health-care workers
Vaccination NOT recommended for:
* People with egg allergies
* People who have had past reactions to a flu vaccination
* People with Guillain-Barre syndrome
* People with cold-like symptoms
* Children under 6 months
Does the vaccine work?
* Effectiveness varies from 70 percent to 90 percent in healthy adults. In 16 of the last 20 flu seasons, the viruses in the vaccine have been well matched to the predominant circulating viruses. Vaccines take about two weeks to provide protection against the flu.
What are other parents doing?
* No one knows for sure if parents will follow the new age guidelines, but historically, flu vaccination rates are generally low for children. Only about 1 in 5 for kids age 6 months to 23 months and 1 in 6 for kids 24 months to 5 years are vaccinated. These rates have not changed significantly in recent years, despite efforts by public health officials.
Flu-vaccine myths
* MYTH: You can get the flu from a flu shot. FACT: Flu shots contain killed fl u virus, and the nasal spray contains a weakened flu virus. They can’t give you the flu.
* MYTH: If scientists pick the “wrong strain” of flu, the shot doesn’t work.
FACT: Scientists pick the virus strains to include in the vaccine a year in advance to allow time for manufacturing. Even if the virus strains and vaccine strains aren’t perfectly matched, vaccination can still lessen flu symptoms, as all strains are interrelated.
Must it be a shot?
NO. FluMist is a nasal-spray option. Both the shot and the spray can be obtained without prescriptions at pharmacies and are administrated there by trained professionals.
How do they compare?
THE SHOT
* contains the killed virus
* is given with a needle, usually in the arm
* is approved for use in people older than 6 months
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$25 average price, which is covered by most health insurance plans.
Possible side effects*:
* Soreness, redness or swelling where the shot was given
* Low-grade fever
* Aches
* Side effects are not common in healthy people and often subside in 1 to 2 days.
THE NASAL SPRAY
* contains live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu
* approved for use in healthy people 2-49 who are not pregnant.
$18.95 average price, which is covered by most health insurance plans.
Possible side effects* in children:
* Runny nose
* Wheezing
* Headache
* Vomiting
* Aches
* Fever
In adults:
* Runny nose
* Headache
* Sore throat
* Cough
Will there be enough doses?
This year, 261 million people qualify for flu vaccination, according to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Manufacturers are making a record 146 million doses of vaccine.
What’s in a dose?
* Virus strains. Flu vaccines target three virus strains. This year they are: A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1)-like, A/Brisbane/ 10/2007 (H3N2)-like and B/Florida/ 4/2006-like antigens. In the shot, these viruses are dead. In the nasal spray, these viruses are alive, but weakened.
* Preservative. Some shots have trace amounts of thimerosal, which contains mercury.*
*Although studies have found no proof, fears that thimerosal could be linked to autism have spurred manufacturers this year to increase production of vaccine that doesn’t include it.
96 million regular doses
115 million people won’t seek a vaccine
50 million doses
Want more info?
* For more information about the fl u and flu vaccine, visit www.cdc.gov/flu
* Once there, you can monitor the fl u as it spreads across the U.S. on a map like the one at right. Weekly reports are also available. Click on the section about surveillance.
Local doctors’ advice
“When I’m talking to people I remind them that the flu is a different disease than the common cold. It is a serious illness that can result in hospitalization and even death in the chronically ill, elderly and the very young.
“When children get sick, they often spread it to each other, their parents and grandparents, and others who aren’t protected by the vaccine…. We can protect children from hospitalization and from missing school. We also can protect vulnerable people, including babies younger than six months who can’t get vaccinated against flu. So there are any number of reasons to get vaccinated.”
–Dr. Julie Morita, medical director of the immunization program at the Chicago Department of Public Health
“I think that it’s very important to get the vaccine. The complications in children are much higher than many adults realize, ranging from pneumonia to de- hydration to the risk of encephalitis. We have seen some children with muscle infections related to the virus. So there are significant side effects in some children and we’re trying to prevent that.
–Dr. Timothy Wall, a pediatrician with Pediatric Health Associates in Naperville, Plainfield and West Chicago
“I recommend the flu vaccine to all parents for their kids. I also encourage parents and grandparents to get vaccinated. It’s the best way to protect against influenza. I think there is a tendency to confuse viral illnesses. They are not the same. Influenza is a specific illness that causes significant morbidity in people with chronic health problems and the elderly, and mortality in some.
–Dr. Prashant Deshpande, a pediatrician with Southwest Pediatrics in Palos Park and Mokena
Sources: Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, Baxter International, MedImmune, Inc.
JEN MYSTKOWSKI/TRIBUNE
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What else can I do to fight the flu?
* Wash your hands frequently.
* If you get sick with flu, reduce your contact with others and cover your cough to avoid spreading germs.
* Consider an influenza antiviral drug.
Two flu antiviral drugs (prescription pills, liquid or an inhaler) are recommended for use this flu season:
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Oseltamivir (brand name Tamiflu)
* Approved to treat and prevent flu in people older than 1 year old.
* More information: www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2006/Tamiflu_PPI.pdf Zanamivir (brand name Relenza)
* Approved to treat flu in people older than 7 and prevent flu in people older than 5.
* More information: www.fda.gov/cder/drug/InfoSheets/patient /zanamivirPIS.htm