In the U.S. the CDC estimates that 26,000 children under the age of 5 are hospitalized annually with deaths from influenza ranging from 37 to 171 children each year. This is a particular problem for infants because there is currently no approved influenza vaccine for children under the age of 6 months. They rely on the people around them to be vaccinated (herd immunity).
A recent study from the European Respiratory Journal indicated a link between having more older siblings and infant hospitalization due to influenza. Over 1000 hospitals in Scotland admitting children under 2 were tracked from 2007 to 2015. Researchers found that infants with at least one sibling were 2.5x more likely to be hospitalized, and those with 2 or more siblings were 3 times as likely to be hospitalized. Other factors such as maternal age and maternal smoking were tested, but only being born during flu season had as great a correlation with increased hospitalization due to flu as the number of siblings. This speaks to the ability of larger households to transmit disease to the vulnerable, and underscores the importance of vaccinating the whole family.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/well/live/older-siblings-a-risk-factor-for-serious-flu-infections-in-infants.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=13&pgtype=sectionfront
~Scarlett
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