Most Child Flu Victims Did Not Receive Vaccine, Says CDC
By Mikaela Conley Sept. 15, 2011 ABC News
Among the 115 children who died of flu-related causes last year, less than a quarter of them had received the flu vaccine, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"The influenza vaccine prevents the flu," said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the CDC. "And if someone does come down with the flu, the vaccine can help avoid serious complications."
Since 2004, states have been required to report flu-related deaths in kids and teens, and the new data revealed that nearly half the children who died of influenza between Sept. 1, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2011, had been healthy. They had no high-risk medical conditions that would have made them more susceptible to flu complications.
"Immunization is essential," said Dr. Lewis Goldfrank, the chairman of emergency medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center. "The fact that we have access to vaccine is a great privilege and opportunity for all. Influenza is preventable, and as these children unfortunately demonstrate, it can be a lethal disease for young children even if they are not previously shown to have serious co-morbidities."
"The vaccine is very safe and effective," said Allison Aiello, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. "There is a myth that the vaccine causes individuals to get influenza. This is not true and side effects of the vaccine are very rare. The most common side effect is simply soreness at the site of injection. Benefits greatly outweigh any risks associated with the vaccine."