Get Ready for Flu Season - Flu Shot for Kids Information
It's sad but true: summer will be coming to an end sooner than we think. And with that, it's time to start prepping for back to school…and back to flu season.
Of course, starting the school year can be exciting, but also full of germs. Lots of coughs, colds, and assorted viruses lurk in those school halls. There are a few ways to curb the spread of the flu:
Frequent hand washing
Teaching your kids to cough into their folded elbows
Wiping down those desks
But the best defense of all for the flu is a flu shot.
Why a Flu Shot for Kids Matters
Flu vaccines are recommended by the CDC, the ACIP, and the AAP for all people ages 6 months and up. They're most effective for the community at large if given in late September and early October. The more people that get the vaccine, the greater the herd immunity — that is, less flu to go around. This is helpful for the small handful of people who are unable to get the vaccine, including our patients who are less than 6 months old.
The flu vaccine is formulated every year with new strains of flu, based on data collected by the World Health Organization. When the vaccine is well matched with the circulating strains, it's known to decrease the transmission of flu by 40-60%. Flu vaccines also have a proven safety record, with most recipients having no or just minor side effects.
Although some people are quick to shrug off the flu as a mild illness, keep in mind that last flu season there were 289 reported pediatric deaths due to flu in the United States, and 10% of all pediatric hospital admissions last winter were due to the flu. Of those with serious flu illness and death, 80-90% were non-immunized patients.
What Flu Symptoms Look Like
Typically, the flu brings on a lot of respiratory symptoms that occur all at once, over the course of a few hours:
Fever
Chills
Cough
Congestion
Body aches
Sore throat
Nasal congestion
If you have these symptoms, you can always start with a home test — but the test we run at the office is much more reliable, since we use PCR testing, which has 95% sensitivity and 99% specificity, meaning it's very accurate.
It's always worth a visit to us if you think your child has the flu. It's good to rule out flu complications in person, and we can also prescribe anti-flu medication if we catch it early enough in its course.
When to Get Vaccinated
We never know exactly when flu season will hit us, but the typical season runs from October to May, with peak activity from December through March. To keep our patients covered, we have the flu shot available typically by the end of August. We'll also be having drive-through flu shot clinics available to all our pediatric patients on a few weekends in September and October. We urge all our patients who are eligible to get the flu vaccine seasonally, to protect not only themselves, but those around them.
So, as you're getting all your school supplies purchased and ready to go, don't forget to get your kids their flu shots! Keep an eye out for information on our website or via email blast to let you know when our vaccines and clinics are up and running.
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