Your Flu Shot Questions Answered

I’m a flu-shot fanatic ever since I had the flu when I was four months pregnant with my son in 1998. I thought I would die, and I was certain that I would miscarry. Obviously, a slight over-reaction on my part, but the experience means that my children and I are always among the first inoculated each fall. And last year we stood in line for hours to get H1N1 shots, too.
 
This year, the Centers for Disease Control are suggesting that everyone six months and older should get the flu shot, and the vaccine being offered includes H1N1. Fortunately, it appears that there is no shortage of the vaccine, so standing in line probably won’t be necessary.

Dr. John Madden (right), a pediatrician with Esse Health in Sunset Hills who also has a doctorate in microbiology and an informal degree in fatherhood (his children are 8, 6 and 8 months), says everyone over the age of six months who doesn’t have a medical reason NOT to get a flu shot should definitely get one this year. He says that about 25,000 people die each year from the flu. Plus, the flu can result in complications such as pneumonia, and those at greatest risk for those complications are those over age 65 and under age 5.

“Even if you got the H1N1 vaccine last year, it’s a good idea to get the combined vaccine this year because it will give you a boost and will cover two other strains currently circulating in the southern hemisphere,” he says. Dr. Madden adds that children ages 6 months to two years will need two vaccines, and children 8 and under who didn’t get the H1N1 vaccine last year also will need two.
 
“Parents should make an effort to get their children and themselves vaccinated as soon as possible, especially if they need to two vaccines,” he says. “The flu typically peaks In January or February, but last year we were seeing flu by Halloween, so the sooner the better.”
 
Dr. Madden says that the vaccine takes a couple of weeks to provide protection, and children who need two vaccines must wait four weeks between the first one and the second. “The first dose will give them some protection, but it is a week or two after the second dose before the full protection of the vaccine is realized,” he says.
 
Of course, flu season means it’s time to remind parents about other flu precautions such as hand-washing and covering their mouths when sneezing or coughing. “But the vaccine is the most effective way to protect against the flu,” Dr. Madden says.

By Michelle M. Cox, contributing writer for SmartParenting