Panel Urges Flu Shots for Children 2 to 5 Years Old
Posted on: Wednesday, 22 February 2006, 21:00 CST
NEW YORK _ Annual flu shots should be given to children 2 to 5 years old, greatly increasing the number of kids protected against the common virus, a panel of scientists told federal health officials Wednesday.
The recommendation by the influential Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would add more than 5 million children to the group of 180 million Americans already urged to get flu shots every year, including infants 6 to 23 months old, pregnant women, seniors and people with chronic illnesses such as heart disease.
The panel's recommendations are usually adopted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which sets national vaccination guidelines.
On Tuesday, the panel also recommended giving children a newly approved vaccine that protects against the rotavirus, a major cause of severe diarrhea.
Giving the oral vaccine _ called RotaTeq and made by the drug giant Merck _ at 2, 4 and 6 months old would significantly reduce hospitalizations, said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at University Hospital in Stony Brook, Long Island.
In June, the panel is expected to recommend a much-anticipated vaccine against the human papilloma virus, or HPV, which has been linked to cervical cancer.
Clinical trials have shown the vaccine Gardasil prevents lesions caused by the virus, which infects about half of all adults, said Dr. Eliav Barr, senior director of clinical research at Merck, which also makes Gardasil.
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Source: Daily News
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