Recently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made it official ‚ children six to twenty three months old should receive flu shots this fall. In the past, the flu shot was recommended only for children two years old and older.
Children younger than two years old, especially those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and HIV, have a high risk of being hospitalized for the flu or flu-related complications such as pneumonia.
Healthy young children who catch the flu are more likely to need hospitalization than are healthy adults ages 40-64. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, in the last flu season there were over 40 children who died from the flu or its complications.
Family Practice News, 6/1/04.
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