D.C.-area doctors say they’re worried many eligible children will not receive their flu vaccine this year. It’s something they fear will cause a spike in cases — or worse.
“Many people worry about ‘Oh, it’s another shot for my child.’ Yes, it is. But it’s usually just once a year, and it helps protect your child that while flu season,” said Dr. Christina Brown, a pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente in the D.C. area.
Brown says these worries in the medical community stem from a new CDC report which shows the importance of not getting complacent when it comes to the flu, especially in young children.
“Children under 5 are at increased risk of flu,” she warned.
The CDC report, published just last week, shows that, of the 199 child deaths from the flu in 2023, which matched the record high total from 2019, 83% of deaths were among children who were eligible to be vaccinated, but weren’t.
Already, the CDC report says there have been two deaths in September of 2024.
Brown says she understands that, especially post-pandemic: “Parents are tired of talking about vaccines. Pediatricians are too!”
But she says this one preventive measure can make all the difference. The CDC report also shows that getting the flu shot can reduce doctors visits by two thirds and hospitalizations related to the flu by half.
“Flu shots save lives,” Brown emphasized.
She says that while half the children in the CDC report who died from flu had preexisting medical conditions, half didn’t, which illustrates that the virus doesn’t discriminate.
“Even healthy children under 5 are at increased risk of flu,” she told WTOP. “The flu kills healthy children every year. I’ve watched a perfectly healthy teenager die from the flu. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Brown says she recommends getting yourself and your child vaccinated as early as possible this season.
“We’re really relying on parents of infants to be getting vaccinated to protect those children,” she said, adding that pregnant women can also get vaccinated to pass antibodies down to their babies.
She says risks of getting a flu vaccine are especially minimal. Even if you don’t feel great right after, she says the effects wear off in a day or less, and that it’s important not to buy into misinformation that’s out there.
“You cannot get the flu from getting the flu vaccine,” she explained. “It’s just not possible. The flu vaccine is an inactivated version of the flu, so it helps your body build that immune response, but cannot give you the flu.”
With those two pediatric deaths already reported in September, Brown reiterates that the time to vaccinate is now.
“I vaccinate myself, my children, and I recommend it for anyone who is eligible,” she told WTOP. “Flu shots save lives.”
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