CDC: Kids up to age 18 should get flu shot

U.S. health officials are issuing a full recommendation that all children ages 6 months to 18 years be vaccinated for seasonal flu.

This past year’s recommendations encouraged vaccination, and the plan has been that this year this would be a full recommendation, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters in a telephone news conference Friday.

No longer just an encouragement or ‘where feasible,’ but a full-out recommendation.

Vaccination against seasonal influenza should begin as soon as vaccine is available and continue throughout the influenza season, Schuchat said.

At this point, 83 percent of the population is recommended to get an annual flu vaccine and we recommend it for anyone who wants to reduce their risk of flu, unfortunately, only about 40 percent of the U.S. population received the flu vaccine last year, so we’re really recommending an intensifying use of this vaccine because it does protect against illness and complications like hospitalization and severe outcomes, Schuchat said.

We have recommended healthcare workers get the seasonal flu vaccine for years and we all need to be with vaccination coverage.

The CDC believes there have been more than 1 million cases of the new H1N1 virus so far in The United States — 20 states report widespread or regional influenza activity, Schuchat said.