NEW DELHI New Delhi: Influenza vaccine in children is effective in preventing severe influenza illness, including hospitalization, according to a study conducted by researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At least one dose of influenza vaccine has been found to be more than 50 percent effective in protecting children from influenza- emergency department and hospital visits. “Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect children against influenza and its complications, including severe illness and hospitalization,” the researchers said in the paper.

“Improving vaccine uptake in children could reduce influenza illness and, subsequently, reduce emergency department and hospital visits during times of co-circulation of respiratory viruses,” they said, according to the study published online in JAMA Network Open. For the study, the team analyzed data from 15,728 children ages 6 months to 17 years who came for care with acute respiratory illness. About 17.2 percent of participants tested positive for influenza. were negative, while 82.8 percent were negative.

Overall, 49.5 percent of children in both the influenza test positive and test negative groups were vaccinated. Among children of all ages, receiving at least one influenza vaccine dose was associated with fewer influenza- emergency department visits or hospitalizations. Vaccine effectiveness was estimated to be 55.7 percent for preventing. Across severity levels, estimated vaccine effectiveness was similar: emergency department visits, 52.8, 52.3 and 50.4 percent for non-severe hospitalization and serious hospitalization, respectively.

Notably, estimated influenza vaccine effectiveness was found to be highest in children aged 6 months to 8 years, the age at which children are most at risk for severe disease. “These findings indicate that children It is important to get an annual influenza vaccine during influenza season to protect against all levels of severity of influenza illness, from emergency department visits to acute hospitalization.”