All children under 5 and older than 6 months should be vaccinated against influenza, a panel of U.S. vaccine advisers said Wednesday.
The unanimous vote by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s immunization advisory committee in Atlanta delighted pediatricians and infectious disease specialists, who have been pressing for universal flu vaccination standards.
“Starting with the next influenza season we will not only have children 6 to 24 months but all children up to 5 years of age,” said Dr. Carol J. Baker, president-elect of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, who asked the panel to expand its recommendations.
Baker had only hoped to persuade the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to recommend better vaccination of children with asthma. But she said the committee members decided to recommend that all children under 5 get a flu shot.
“The reason for (vaccinating) young children is they have the same amount of hospitalizations and illnesses as older groups, excluding the elderly,” Baker, a pediatrician at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in a telephone interview.
“The infrastructure for vaccinating these young children is in place -- the annual visit to the pediatrician.”
The CDC says influenza killed 153 children in the 2003-2004 flu season -- more U.S. children than chicken pox, whooping cough, and measles combined.
Nearly two-thirds of those who died were under age 5, and half were previously healthy. Forty-three percent had asthma.
This year’s flu season has stayed well below epidemic levels. Only 12 children have been reported to have died from influenza this season, although not all deaths are reported.
The CDC says 13 states reported widespread influenza activity in recent weeks, and just under 8 percent of influenza-like illness actually tested positive for the flu virus. The rest were likely caused by some other infection.
Many studies have found that adult vaccination rates for influenza fall well short of guidelines in the United States. Fewer than half the 185 million Americans who are supposed to get flu shots actually ever do.
This is complicated by frequent shortages of influenza shots and trouble distributing them. Vaccine makers have dropped out of the market, citing uncertainty, difficulty making the vaccine and fear of lawsuits.
The CDC hopes that by broadening the groups vaccinated, vaccine makers will be encouraged to get back into the business. Baker said vaccinating children may also benefit other people.
“These children are significant spreaders of influenza within the household,” she said.
