Does My Child Need a Flu Shot or Not?

It's a common question parents ask themselves this time of year: Does my child really need a flu shot? Though the flu may seem harmless, the truth is on average 20,000 children age 5 and younger are hospitalized due to flu symptoms each year.

"The flu can be deadly, especially in children under the age of 5, and those who have certain health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease," said Kevin Polsley, MD, Loyola University Health System pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "But even if your child doesn’t have risk factors, he or she could still develop potentially fatal complications from the flu."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that nearly half of the children who died last year from the flu had no risk factors. Influenza is a highly contagious virus. As cold weather begins to set in and with people spending more time indoors and in confined spaces, the chances of contracting the flu increases.

"The best way to protect kids from the flu and its potentially deadly symptoms is a flu shot," said Polsley. "Schools and day-care centers are perfect environments for the flu to spread. But just because your child doesn't go to school is not a guarantee they won’t get the flu. It’s everywhere."

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that every child 6 months or older get a flu shot.

“It’s best to get the shot in the fall before we start to see a lot of flu activity because it takes two weeks for the body to develop an antibody response,” said Polsley.

If the thought of another shot is too much to take, a nasal spray also is available. Polsley says both are safe for healthy children ages 2 and older.

There are two types of vaccines:

* The "flu shot" - an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm. The flu shot is approved for use in people older than 6 months, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions.

There are three different flu shots available:
o a regular flu shot approved for people ages 6 months and older
o a high-dose flu shot approved for people 65 and older, and
o an intradermal flu shot approved for people 18 to 64 years of age.
* The nasal-spray flu vaccine - a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that is given as a nasal spray. The viruses in the nasal spray vaccine do not cause the flu. LAIV is approved for use in healthy people 2 through 49 years of age who are not pregnant.

Seasonal flu vaccines protect against the three influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. The viruses in the vaccine can change each year based on international surveillance and scientists' estimations about which types and strains of viruses will circulate in a given year. About 2 weeks after vaccination, antibodies that provide protection against the influenza viruses in the vaccine develop in the body.