Why it's Important to Get Vaccinated for H1N1
Are you planning on vaccinating your children against the flu this year?
As a physician, I am worried that this year’s flu season may be very difficult to control. We have seen influenza in our ERs regularly through the summer. As school starts and the winter months come, I am worried about the potential rapid spread of this virus. An unvaccinated population makes this even more frightening.
Many flu virus strains in the United States are now resistant to antiviral drugs. Pediatricians have very limited treatment options for patients with influenza. The best treatment is prevention through the influenza vaccine and hand hygiene.
There are two flu vaccines this year: one against the novel H1N1 virus (“swine flu”) and one against seasonal influenza. I understand the concerns of parents who worry that the vaccine against novel H1N1 virus may be too new to be well tested. But, the flu vaccine is new every year. The fact that this vaccine includes protection against different strains doesn’t make it much different than the flu shot that is always adjusted every year.
I have heard parents say, “but why do my kids have to be vaccinated if the swine flu is a lot like the old flu and isn’t that dangerous?” First, the novel H1N1 flu virus can be fatal in children. Many more children are hospitalized for influenza but, thankfully, do not die. According to the CDC, hospitalization rates for the flu among healthy children range from 240--720 per 100,000 children aged <6 months to approximately 20 per 100,000 children aged 2--5 years. As of July 8, 2009, a total of 17 deaths caused by H1N1 virus infection have occurred in 2009 among children in the United, according to the CDC. Many of these children were previously healthy.
The CDC recommends annual vaccination of all children aged 6 months--18 years. If vaccines are limited, the CDC recommends that providers give first priority to children ages 6 months to 4 years, and older children with conditions that place them at increased risk for complications from the flu such as asthma.
It will be time to get your family’s flu shots in the next 1-2 months. What do you think? Will you and your kids get vaccinated?