Influenza is the Leading Cause of Vaccine Preventable Deaths in Children Under 5

Each year, many children under the age of five die and hundreds more are hospitalized because of the flu. This is all despite the fact that there is a vaccine available to help prevent the flu. In fact, influenza is now the leading cause of vaccine preventable deaths in children under the age of five. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that all children aged six months to five years should get the vaccine. However, only a fraction of children receive that vaccination which leaves many children vulnerable. Why is this and what is being done about it? A new survey may be able to shed some light on why this situation is occurring and a new initiative may be able to help combat the situation.

Approximately one-hundred children under the age of five die from the flu each year in the United States. Another twenty-thousand are hospitalized because of the illness. Influenza is caused by a virus and affects everyone differently. Symptoms can be mild causing everything from a sore throat to a fever. In children, however, the virus can be much more severe and sometimes fatal. Children are at a particularly high risk of serious flu complications. Children aged two and under are especially susceptible to influenza and its complications. Because it is a virus, there is no specific treatment. The only "cure" is prevention.