An advisory panel to the CDC recommends that all children ages 6 mos to 18 years should receive the flu vaccine, which extends the previous recommendation to immunize children up to age 5. This recommendation is likely to take effect in the 2008-2009 season and will add nearly 30 million kids to the list of who should receive annual flu immunizations.
The official CDC recommendation will increase the number of government-subsidized shots supplied to families who cannot afford to pay and may result in more insurance companies covering payment for the shots.
The move to vaccinate schoolchildren is an effort to prevent spread from children to adults and elderly persons, of which about 35,000 die annually in the US from flu complications.
Check out the article on the front page of today's (2/28/08) San Jose Mercury News.
Erin
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