Flu vaccines for children proven effective by new study

Flu vaccines for children proven effective by new study

Flu vaccines for children have been shown in a Finnish study to be effective and the findings may convince health authorities worldwide to give flu shots to kids between six and 35 months of age. Only Finland and the United States actively promotes for children younger than two years old to receive the flu vaccines.

The clinical trial, which was conducted in 2007-2008 in Turku, Finland, showed that the 0.5 mL flu vaccine shot was 66 percent effective in kids younger than three years of age and there were no serious side effects monitored after the shots were administered.  CIDRAP News says that the shots were available at health clinics and were proven effective against influenza A/H1N1 and H3N2 but were only 45 percent effective against influenza type B. It recorded an 84 percent effectiveness rate against type A. Only seven out of 154 vaccinated kids developed both types and 61 kids who were not given the shots were confirmed to have both types. Just four percent of those vaccinated versus 12 percent of those unvaccinated caught the flu bug.

“These findings are clinically important, because the burden of influenza is particularly high among the youngest children, and hence both the need for and the benefit from an effective vaccine would be greatest in this age group,” CIDRAP News quoted the researchers as saying. They went on to say that their promising study findings may change the practice in many nations who forego flu vaccines for children because they are considered ineffective for this group.

Posted by George Daniels on Sunday November 28 2010, 4:09 AM EST. Ref: Vaccine News Daily. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0