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Safe for toddlers to roll up sleeves for flu vaccine: study
CBC News
October 27, 2006
Related - Vaccination - The Hidden Truth
Related - Does the Flu Shot Work?
Young children may cry when given a flu shot, but their parents can rest assured the vaccine appears to be safe, a large study has found.
In 2003, four Canadian children died of influenza-related causes. Most years, about 1,000 children under 16 are hospitalized with flu complications.
No other age group except those older than 65 has such high rates of illness from the flu, according to studies in the U.S.
Now, researchers have reviewed the safety of flu shots in more than 45,000 children aged six to 23 months in the U.S. The young children were vaccinated between 1991 and 2003.
Dr. Simon Hambidge of the University of Colorado's school of medicine in Denver and colleagues found few problems after vaccination that needed a doctor's care. None of the conditions was serious.
"While our findings offer reassurance regarding the safety of the vaccine in the youngest children, large safety studies of influenza vaccine in children in the newly recommended age group of children three to five years old are needed," the researchers concluded in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Our study, the largest safety study of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in children aged six to 23 months, adds to prior evidence that influenza vaccine is safe in infants and young children."
During the one- to 14-day risk window after vaccination, there was a very slight increase in trips to the doctor for mild vomiting and diarrhea, but fewer visits for asthma, cough and the common cold.
More research is needed to determine if the lower number of medical visits for respiratory tract conditions was related to a protective effect of the vaccine itself or if it's because children are more likely to be vaccinated when they are considered healthy, the researchers said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says flu shots are particularly important for children aged six to 23 months.
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