It’s that time of year when the kids’ flu shots are flowing. But should your child get the flu vaccine? And is there enough to go around? The fact is, most of us can handle the flu pretty well. We can get sick, but we recover without serious consequences. It’s the very old, and the very young who are susceptible, and who can be seriously sickened by the flu. It’s these kids, who along with the seniors, need to get an annual flu shot. This year is no exception. Cornell Smith is one and a half, and he’s the ideal candidate to get the flu shot this year. But his mom Katrina has wavered. “I opt not to get it for my own choices,” says Katrina. But experts say Cornell should get a flu shot, since kids his age are more susceptible to a serious illness.
"For this year the recommendation from the CDC is that all 6-23 month olds get immunized for the flu. And although we may have a supply issue it seems as if there will be enough flu vaccine to do that," says Dr. Peter Tesler, Chief of Ambulatory Pediatrics at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital.
Dr. Tesler says we’re not doing that great a job at immunizing the kids, pointing to recent literature which says less than half of the kids both kids with chronic disease and in the 6-23 month old ranges are getting the flu vaccine. They’re the first target, and then come those who live with these kids. "When we’re sure we have enough supply of flu vaccine we’ll open it up to people in households with 6-23 month olds. Now before October 24th, we’re just going to give the flu vaccine to people in households which have a child less than six months old," says Dr. Tesler.
But here’s an issue- kids are major carriers of the flu. Add to that, it’s been recently shown that seniors do not respond as well as we had hoped to the flu shot. So, does it make sense to vaccinate all kids who do respond well, including the older ones, so they don’t spread what is a potential killer in the old and those with chronic illnesses, like heart disease and diabetes? "We may look at the 3-4 year olds who aren’t getting as sick as the younger children, but who also may be doing a good job at spreading it to everyone else," Dr. Tesler states.
For now though, the target is to get the flu vaccine to 6-23 month olds. Dr. Tesler adds, "Hopefully we’ll have enough supply for everyone who needs it." And Cornell is certainly one of those kids. "If his pediatrician keeps nudging me, yes he’ll get the flu vaccine," says Katrina. Here’s the good news. For the 2005-2006 flu season, four manufacturers are expected to produce almost 100 million doses of flu vaccine. So that’s around one dose of flu vaccine for every three people, which means most of us who want a flu shot and all of us who should get one can be vaccinated.
Interestingly, there are special recommendations for the hurricane victims. Any displaced person 6 months and older living in crowded group settings should be given a flu vaccine. And kids eight and under should get two shots of flu vaccine at least a month apart.