Why it is Advisable to Vaccinate Children Against the Flu: Insights from Pediatric Infectologist Elisa Garrote

In a few weeks a new flu vaccination campaign begins. The main novelty this year is the inclusion of children between 6 months and 5 years of age among the population for which the injection is indicated. The preparation, recommended by the WHO and the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP), is already administered to healthy children in 70 countries around the world. Elisa Garrote, head of service and pediatric infectologist at the Basurto hospital, as well as a member of the Osakidetza and AEP vaccine advisory committees, explains why it is advisable to vaccinate children against this disease.

– This year one of the main novelties of the flu campaign in the Basque Country is that children between 6 months and 5 years of age have been included among the groups to be vaccinated. Why has it been done?

– Because it is the most effective way we have to prevent flu disease. Its incidence rate in children is very high. It is the age group in which there is a greater number of cases. The AEP says that it is up to three or four times greater than in adults. It is considered that each year up to 30 or 40% of children will suffer from the disease. And although in most cases it is not serious, among the smallest it can have more complicated forms.

– Why has this vaccine been indicated only for children between 6 months and 5 years of age and not for all children under and over that age?

– It is not that it is not recommended in the rest of the child population. But the group most at risk for more serious disease or complications are the youngest children, those under five years of age. That is why they have been included in the vaccination schedule. For the rest of the child population, it is a vaccine that is available in pharmacies and that can be administered because it is good for preventing the disease in oneself and in cohabitants. So if you are infected, you suffer from it in a milder way and you transmit it less.

higher incidence

“Children is the age group that registers the most cases of flu. Every year between 30 and 40% of children are infected »

– How is the childhood vaccine?

– It is the same that is used in adults.

– On many occasions the flu is considered a banal disease. Is it so?

– Although in many cases it is mild, sometimes the flu presents a more serious course, both in the elderly and in young children and in people included in risk groups. The most frequent complication is pneumonia, which can be caused by the virus itself or by bacterial superinfection. In Spain, the hospitalization rates associated with this disease in healthy children under 4 years of age are similar to or even higher than those of people between 65 and 79 years of age. I am talking about hospitalization, not mortality, which is exceptional in the pediatric age due to this disease. It must also be taken into account that two out of three children who are admitted have no risk factors beyond the fact that they are tiny.

Experience in other countries

– In addition to protecting the child, can the infant flu preparation serve as a barrier to reduce contagion?

– Children are the most contagious, because they have the highest viral load and also transmit the virus for longer. Added to this is the fact that adults, including the elderly, have closer contact with children than with people of other ages. With which within the community the child is the main vector of contagion. There are many studies that show that when children are vaccinated, morbidity and mortality decrease in the adult population of their community. In all these works it is seen that vaccinating children protects the elderly.

– What results has this childhood flu vaccine obtained in those countries that have administered it to their children in previous campaigns?

– It has been seen that in countries where their pediatric population is vaccinated against influenza, such as the United States, which has been doing so for 14 years, or Australia, the hospitalization rate in children under 5 years of age is reduced between three and four times. In turn, the need for affected children to go to the ER is reduced by up to 70%. The effectiveness of this preparation is around 60%, although in some seasons it has been close to 80%, depending on the circulating strain. In addition, it interrupts the chain of transmission and indirectly protects other members of the community.

transmission vector

“Children are the ones who infect the most because they are the ones with the highest viral load and also transmit it for a longer time”

-And the coronavirus? Will children have to be vaccinated against covid this campaign?

-The recommendation of the ministry and scientific societies is that this season a booster dose be administered only to children belonging to risk groups. To the rest, no.

“The pandemic meant that some children did not have all the vaccines”

– How do you assess the vaccination level of Basque children?

– Is very good. Schedule vaccination, especially that of children under two years of age, is above 95%. Yes, it is possible to insist on improving coverage in the older age groups, for example, in vaccination and booster doses for adolescents and older children.

– What do you mean?

– Their vaccination level is also very good, but during the pandemic part of the vaccination planned for that population was delayed. Since then, pediatricians have been making an effort to recapture some of the children who may not have yet received the recommended doses in the vaccination schedule.

– Why is it important to keep the calendar up to date?

– Because general vaccination is the most effective preventive measure we have had in the history of mankind. Currently, some preventable diseases have disappeared thanks to the availability of effective and safe vaccines. But to maintain these levels of health it is very important to have good vaccination coverage.

2023-09-03 18:52:52
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