Flu Vaccination Catching on for Kids

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Oct. 5, 2007 -- Flu vaccinations for young children may be more common this year than last year, according to a new poll.

The CDC recommends flu vaccination for all children aged 6 months to 5 years.

The new poll, which included 2,060 U.S. adults, was conducted by Knowledge Networks for the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in late July and early August.

Among parents, 65% said they planned to get flu vaccinations this year for their children who are up to 5 years old. That's an increase from 47% of parents in last year's poll.

Flu shots are given annually. They're tailor-made each year to target the flu viruses that are expected to be most common in the upcoming flu season.

So if you got a flu vaccine last year, you still need a new one this year. The same is true for kids.

Parents who said they didn't plan to vaccinate their young children against the flu most commonly said they were going to skip the vaccine because their kids were healthy and didn't need it.

But flu can strike healthy children, and "the single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year," states the CDC's web site.

October or November is the best time to get vaccinated against flu, but flu vaccines are still available in December and later, according to the CDC.

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