December 5, 2007 3:43 PM
Deadly Flu Risk For Kids
An early strong start to the flu season and the deaths of at least five children in Colorado from the flu highlight the importance of getting a flu shot for at-risk children.
Dr. Louis Cooper, a representative of the American Academy of Pediatrics, tells The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler it is too early to explain the deaths in Colorado.
To put it in perspective he says, "Children get influenza every year. Maybe 30 percent of the kids in school will get the flu. We always have some hospitalizations and we certainly have extra deaths. Most of those deaths are in folks like me or in people who have some kind of underlying condition: people with sickle-cell disease, chronic heart disease, diabetes and so forth."
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says this flu season could be worse than usual, partly because the vaccine currently used does not fully match a strain of the virus that is in circulation.
In an average year, up to 20 percent of the U.S. population contracts the flu, causing about 36,000 deaths and 114,000 hospitalizations.
Dr. Cooper's advice is for people to get flu shots. He says, "That's very important and especially for those at high-risk and certainly children ages 6 months to 23 months are a new group and we should make sure they get to their pediatricians to get their flu shots because they need two and then a second a month apart."
Dr. Cooper says, "What's new is our recognition that that age group is hospitalized at the same rate as older people, like me, and so they become immediately a priority target."
Kids getting a flu shot for the first time will need to get a second booster shot one month later. Those who come into close contact with that particular group, such as parents and older siblings, are also encouraged to get flu shots.
If your kids are older than two years of age, worried parents should ask their pediatricians if there are any other risk factors, like a compromised immune system, that would warrant a flu shot.
It's not too late in the season to seek out the vaccination because often one strain of flu can be followed by another, all the way through the spring of the next year.
It's always advisable to seek out a flu shot as early as they become available because there is a finite amount of vaccine available in any given year.
Dr. Cooper says, "Traditionally, most of the vaccine has been dispensed because we like to get it done in September, October and November. It's now into December. Is that too late to be immunized? No. But is there as much vaccine out there as there was earlier? No. That's why especially people who are at risk should get to their doctors and get the vaccine."
The supplies are thought to be adequate this year, and if the demand is the same as in previous years, there should be enough vaccine for everyone who wants a shot. If demand increases, there is the possibility of a shortage. If your pediatrician runs out, he can suggest where to go, or the local health department will have information about supplies in your area.
If your child gets sick and hasn't had a flu shot, don't panic. Call your pediatrician before bringing the child in and spreading whatever infection he or she has. It might not be the flu; there are a lot of other bugs out there.
Dr. Cooper says, "First of all, you don't know that it's the flu. It's a diagnosis that is hard to make and a flu can be mild or dramatic." But he notes you should call the doctor if the child is inconsolable or lethargic or not responsive.
If it is the flu and it sounds serious, the doctor may recommend that you bypass the pediatrician and go straight to the hospital.
The standard flu shot is made using a combination of killed viruses that do not pose a risk of infection. There is a new nasal spray vaccine that uses a weakened virus, but it's not recommended for kids under five years of age, or for those older than 45 or people otherwise at risk.
Having a child with asthma, Syler says, she lives in fear that he will beocme ill with flu. But Dr. Cooper reassures her there is no reason to panic: "Kids with asthma get flu and they survive. However, I'd feel terrible if your child got influenza because you failed to go to the pediatrician to get the vaccine."
Dr. Louis Cooper, a representative of the American Academy of Pediatrics, tells The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler it is too early to explain the deaths in Colorado.
To put it in perspective he says, "Children get influenza every year. Maybe 30 percent of the kids in school will get the flu. We always have some hospitalizations and we certainly have extra deaths. Most of those deaths are in folks like me or in people who have some kind of underlying condition: people with sickle-cell disease, chronic heart disease, diabetes and so forth."
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says this flu season could be worse than usual, partly because the vaccine currently used does not fully match a strain of the virus that is in circulation.
In an average year, up to 20 percent of the U.S. population contracts the flu, causing about 36,000 deaths and 114,000 hospitalizations.
Dr. Cooper's advice is for people to get flu shots. He says, "That's very important and especially for those at high-risk and certainly children ages 6 months to 23 months are a new group and we should make sure they get to their pediatricians to get their flu shots because they need two and then a second a month apart."
Dr. Cooper says, "What's new is our recognition that that age group is hospitalized at the same rate as older people, like me, and so they become immediately a priority target."
Kids getting a flu shot for the first time will need to get a second booster shot one month later. Those who come into close contact with that particular group, such as parents and older siblings, are also encouraged to get flu shots.
If your kids are older than two years of age, worried parents should ask their pediatricians if there are any other risk factors, like a compromised immune system, that would warrant a flu shot.
It's not too late in the season to seek out the vaccination because often one strain of flu can be followed by another, all the way through the spring of the next year.
It's always advisable to seek out a flu shot as early as they become available because there is a finite amount of vaccine available in any given year.
Dr. Cooper says, "Traditionally, most of the vaccine has been dispensed because we like to get it done in September, October and November. It's now into December. Is that too late to be immunized? No. But is there as much vaccine out there as there was earlier? No. That's why especially people who are at risk should get to their doctors and get the vaccine."
The supplies are thought to be adequate this year, and if the demand is the same as in previous years, there should be enough vaccine for everyone who wants a shot. If demand increases, there is the possibility of a shortage. If your pediatrician runs out, he can suggest where to go, or the local health department will have information about supplies in your area.
If your child gets sick and hasn't had a flu shot, don't panic. Call your pediatrician before bringing the child in and spreading whatever infection he or she has. It might not be the flu; there are a lot of other bugs out there.
Dr. Cooper says, "First of all, you don't know that it's the flu. It's a diagnosis that is hard to make and a flu can be mild or dramatic." But he notes you should call the doctor if the child is inconsolable or lethargic or not responsive.
If it is the flu and it sounds serious, the doctor may recommend that you bypass the pediatrician and go straight to the hospital.
The standard flu shot is made using a combination of killed viruses that do not pose a risk of infection. There is a new nasal spray vaccine that uses a weakened virus, but it's not recommended for kids under five years of age, or for those older than 45 or people otherwise at risk.
Having a child with asthma, Syler says, she lives in fear that he will beocme ill with flu. But Dr. Cooper reassures her there is no reason to panic: "Kids with asthma get flu and they survive. However, I'd feel terrible if your child got influenza because you failed to go to the pediatrician to get the vaccine."
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