Many parents have doubt in giving flu vaccine to their children and consider it as optional; some complains that even after receiving flu vaccine children still get common cold sickness.
This is the answer to the parents doubt:
First of all flu sickness (Influenza) is different from common cold illness. There are more than 200 viruses around and many of them can cause the common cold symptoms like running nose, cough, fever etc….., symptoms are usually mild and many of the patients get well even with no treatment . Influenza is also a viral disease caused by only two other types of viruses namely Influenza A and B , symptoms although are same as in common cold but are usually more severe presenting with high fever, muscle and bone pain, child looks more toxic and complication is more serious. So we need to know that when you receive flu vaccine it doesn’t prevent the children from catching common cold and it only protects you from catching influenza. The reason for repeated episodes of cold in children especially below2 or 3 years of age is the fact that there are too many viruses causing the common cold sickness and the fact that each episode does not produce permanent immunity, also when attending kindergarten or school there are many sick kids in there plying and passing the virus to each other mainly through touching, coughing and sneezing.
In 2012 – 2013 flu season many children died, 5 times the number of children died because of influenza in the previous season especially in children with chronic medical condition such as bronchial asthma and 90% of those who died missed one thing that could have save them and that was the flu vaccine. So fear of getting sick after flu vaccine and misinformation cause some families to take their chance with this potentially fatal respiratory viruses.The tragedy is that this illness is largely preventable. .
In fact an average of 20000 kids aged 5 and younger are hospitalized with the flu in USA every year and more than a third of the children who died during the 2012-13 flu season were under age 4 because their immune system was not mature enough to have antibodies to fight off sickness. This is why kids 5 years and under should receive two separate doses of flu vaccine at least 28 days apart. Getting vaccinated early and good hygiene habits are the best way to prevent flu complication, however it takes 2 weeks after receiving the vaccine for the body to develop antibodies to fight flu. Pregnant women especially in the second and third trimester and breast feeding mothers can receive the flu vaccine because catching the flu while pregnant increases the risk of miscarriage and premature birth. Besides you pass flu-fighting antibodies on to your baby that can protect him up to 4 month after birth. Influenza vaccine is also needed for people over 65 years of age because of their poor immune system and the chance of getting in to complication For those children, who are not vaccinated and catches influenza antiviral medications will be more effective if started in 48 hours of the first symptom in order to decrease the risk of serious complications
