Flu vaccine rates in children remain lower than expected
This
year's flu season is in full swing with 41 states now reporting widespread
illness. Unfortunately, not enough children are getting the flu shot even
though health officials recommend that all children 6 months and older get the
vaccine. According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical
Center, less than 45 percent of children were vaccinated against the flu during
a five-year study period.
"Our research showed that one in six children under age 5
who went to an emergency department or clinic with fever and respiratory
symptoms during the peak flu seasons had the flu," said Katherine
Poehling, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at Wake
Forest Baptist and lead author of the study, published in the online edition of
the February issue of Pediatrics. "Many of those
illnesses could have been prevented by vaccination, the best known protection
against the flu."
The
researchers found that children less than 6 months of age had the highest
hospitalization rates with flu. "Parents should include a yearly flu shot
to protect themselves and their children," Poehling said. "The best
way to protect infants too young to receive the influenza vaccine is for
pregnant women, the infant's family members and contacts to get the shot,
too."
The
study, funded by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported
population-based data on confirmed flu cases in children younger than 5 years
old in three counties in Ohio, New York and Tennessee. More than 8,000 children
seen in inpatient, emergency department and clinic settings were included
during five flu seasons from 2004 through 2009.
During
the study period, the researchers found that the overall flu vaccination
coverage changed little, whereas the rates of influenza hospitalization and
prevalence of influenza among outpatients varied annually. The proportion of
infants less than 6 months old diagnosed with flu increased to 48 percent as
compared to 28 percent in a previous study (2000 -- 2004) conducted by the
research team.
However,
for children between ages 6 months to 5 years, the proportion diagnosed with
the flu remained similar in both studies. These data suggest that doctors'
awareness of the flu among young infants has increased, but hasn't among older
children.
The
study also showed that seasonal flu remains an important cause of
hospitalization, emergency department and outpatient visits among children and
that the use of tools known to reduce flu rates -- vaccination and antiviral
medications -- were underused, Poehling said.
Additional
efforts are needed for greater dissemination and use of the existing
recommendation for vaccination of children six months and older and of pregnant
women, which partially protects younger infants. Also needed are the
development and dissemination of evidence-based guidelines for laboratory
testing and therapeutic options, including antiviral medications.
Funding
for the study was primarily provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. In addition, Poehling received research support from the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant RO1AI079226, and
the Wachovia research Fund.
Co-authors
are Kathryn Edwards, M.D., Marie Griffin, M.D., and Yuwei Zhu, M.D., of
Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Peter Szilagyi, M.D., Caroline Hall,
M.D., Geoffrey Weinberg, M.D., of University of Rochester Schools of Medicine
and Dentistry; Mary Staat, M.D., Monica McNeal, M.S., of University of
Cincinnati College of Medicine; Beverly Snively, Ph.D., Cynthia Suerken, M.S.,
of Wake Forest Baptist; Sandra C. Chaves, M.D., Carolyn Bridges, M.D., and
Marika Iwane, Ph.D., of National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
Source: Wake
Forest Baptist Medical Center
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