Providing Children with Flu Vaccine

Children younger than five years are highly at risk of getting influenza. In fact, 20,000 children are annually hospitalized in the United States due to flu. The Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) advises that children from six months to five years of age should get adequate flu vaccine available in their community.

Seasonal flu activity normally happens during month of January or maybe later, but it can reach its peak as early as October. To prevent this outbreak, flu vaccinations are already available by September and will continue throughout the flu period in December, January and later.

It is important that children get vaccinated annually to become updated and protected from varying flu viruses. Once your child had a vaccination against flu last year, it is highly recommended to get another dose of vaccine for this flu season.

For children aged six to nine months who will get flu vaccine for the first time, they should have two doses of vaccination. The first dose will be given in September when flu vaccinations are readily available, while the second vaccination should be given 28 or more days after. If children only get one dose, instead of two doses, the vaccination will only be useless and ineffective. Child care providers should always remember that children need two doses of immunization to stay healthy and protected. If for instance immunization is already available earlier than September, give your children vaccination as early as possible since seasonal flu occurrence is still unpredictable.

Once children get vaccinated, flu vaccine, conversely, does not work immediately. Generally, it takes two or more weeks before it becomes effective. After that, your body will produce antibodies that will fight against influenza viruses. By the time your body still waits for the vaccine to work, you are actually prone to flu virus. That is why it is very important that children get vaccine before the flu season begins.

It is recommended to have vaccination every year because flu viruses change yearly. Consequently, it is probable that a person can get more than one flu infection in his life. This is mainly because of two reasons. First, the vaccine that you get may not be successful in defeating newer viruses. Second, the immunity and resistance of your body for a certain virus due to having vaccine may not work because a new flu virus emerged which is not suitable with the viruses in the vaccine that you get. These are also the same reasons vaccines are always updated to match every new flu viruses that come out.

Always remember that influenza is really a serious disease and it does not single out people whom it can target. Children are more particularly vulnerable to this disease. To prevent children from having serious complications like pneumonia, dehydration, and worsening of long-term medical problems like heart disease or asthma, sinus problems, ear infections, and even death, ensure that they get annual flu vaccine early on in your community.

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