A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered that a flu vaccine reduces a child's risk of needing intensive care hospitalization due to influenza by 74 percent.
This is the first study to compare the vaccine effectiveness (VE) against the number of flu admissions recorded in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). Dr. Alicia Fry, a medical officer from the Influenza Division of the agency led the study. Her team looked into the medical records of 216 children whose ages are between six months to 17 years old and were admitted to 21 PICUs all over United States. The data analyzed were from the recorded flu seasons of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012.
The team found out that flu vaccination helped in decreasing the child's risk of needing intensive pediatric care for flu by at most 74 percent. The results reflected that although vaccines may not be 100 percent effective in protecting the child against the flu, it is effective in shielding him or her from developing more serious complications.
However, the research also found out that although flu vaccination reduces the risk of PICU admission, only 18 percent of the children admitted to PICU were fully vaccinated against the flu. On the other hand, 55 percent of the children had at least one other medical risk such as diabetes or asthma that made them more vulnerable in developing more serious flu complications.
"These study results underscore the importance of an annual flu vaccination, which can keep your child from ending up in the intensive care unit," Dr.Fry said in a press release. "It is extremely important that all children - especially children at high risk of flu complications - are protected from what can be a life-threatening illness."
CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccination for every child aged six months and older, especially for those who are at high risk of developing other complications related to flu.
This study was published in the March 28 issue of Journal of Infectious Diseases.
