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Unvaccinated children at higher risk for flu death

By Mayo Clinic News Network
Published: April 24, 2017, 5:03am

Most children who die from the flu are not vaccinated.

That’s according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published online earlier this month in Pediatrics. The article says this is the first study of its kind showing that flu vaccination significantly reduces a child’s risk of dying from influenza.

According to the CDC news release: “The study, which looked at data from four flu seasons between 2010 and 2014, found that flu vaccination reduced the risk of flu-associated death by half (51 percent) among children with underlying high-risk medical conditions and by nearly two-thirds (65 percent) among healthy children The study findings underscore the importance of the recommendation by CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics that all children 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccine.”

Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a Mayo Clinic pediatric infectious diseases specialist who was not involved with the study, says, “It shows that this protective effect is seen in both children who have medical conditions that would increase their risk of dying from the flu, such as underlying heart or lung disease, but importantly that this benefit extends to healthy children, as well.

“It is impossible to predict which healthy children will develop a mild flu illness with maybe some fever, cough, and runny nose, and which child will develop more severe illness and need to be admitted to hospital or possibly die from influenza infection,” she says. “This is why it is important that all children over 6 months of age get vaccinated every year.”

Complications

For the young and healthy, the seasonal flu usually isn’t serious. Although many feel miserable, the flu usually goes away in a week or two. But high-risk children and adults may develop complications such as:

• Pneumonia.

• Bronchitis.

• Asthma flare-ups.

• Heart problems.

Pneumonia is the most serious complication. For older adults and people with a chronic illness, pneumonia can be deadly.

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