Claudia Boyd-Barrett
posted in Parenting
Time to start thinking about flu vaccines.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) just came out with recommendations for the 2017- 2018 season and is urging that all children ages 6 months and older get vaccinated against the flu, preferably by the end of October.
Sorry, parents. The needle-free, nasal-spray flu vaccine called FluMist is once again absent from the recommendation list. Last year, a panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the FluMist vaccine doesn’t work. That means your only option is a needle-prick vaccine for you and your child.
Don’t worry, there are ways you can make getting shots less traumatic for your baby or toddler. Nursing your baby immediately after he receives a vaccine can help calm him, or you can try to distract your child by rocking, talking or singing to him.
Getting your child vaccinated against the flu is the best way to protect him against the virus and possible complications. More than 100 children in the U.S. died from the flu last year, and thousands more went to hospital. Most of the children who’ve died from the flu in the past were not vaccinated, according to the AAP.
If your child hasn’t received the flu vaccine before he’ll need 2 doses at least 4 weeks apart. Other children only need 1 dose each flu season.
Everyone else in your household should also get the flu vaccine to help prevent the virus from spreading, the AAP recommends. That includes you – even if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding – along with grandparents and child care providers.
Will you and your family be getting the flu vaccine this year? Why, or why not?