CDC: New Data Show Flu Shots Save Children’s Lives

Children whose parents ensure they get flu shots stand a significantly lower risk for death from influenza than children who are not vaccinated, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, the CDC says between 2010 and 2014 flu vaccinations reduced the risk of flu-associated death by half among children with underlying high-risk medical conditions, and by nearly two-thirds among healthy children. The study, published in Pediatrics, is thought to be the first proving that flu vaccination significantly reduced a child’s risk of dying from influenza. The data shore up the CDC’s stance that everyone over the age of 6 months should get a flu shot every year. During the four seasons of the study period, 358 children reportedly died from laboratory-confirmed flu. Of the 291 deaths with known vaccination status, only 26% of the victims had been vaccinated. Keep these facts in mind when gearing up for the next flu season.