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The recent decision to suspend 5yo and under from seasonal flu vaccine will result in a number of issues and questions.
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If parents of older children are concerned over seasonal flu vaccine then obtaining the swine flu vaccine is preferable to not vaccinating at all. Last year there were 191 deaths from swine flu in Australia, and a number of these were otherwise healthy children. There were also several thousand hospital admissions to children's hospitals in Australia with serious complications from swine flu.
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In WA, all children have received seasonal flu vaccine because of the number of deaths from flu experienced in recent years. However there has been an increase in the number of children under 5 presenting to emergency departments with fevers, and febrile convulsions immediately following seasonal influenza vaccination.
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This has resulted in a change of policies Australia wide. All children five or under will not recieve seasonal vaccination.
Frequently Asked Questions.
1. Does this mean the swine flu vaccine can still be given ?
Yes, the ban is just for seasonal vaccine. There is no evidence of significant adverse reactions in those under 5 years from swine flu vaccine.
2. My child is over 5. Should he or she have the seasonal vaccine ?
If your child has a serious medical condition, such as cystic fibrosis, congenital heart disease, or recurrent hospitalisation for asthma, or other medical condition then the answer is definitely yes. It becomes more complicated when considering healthy children. Weighing up the benefits of the vaccine against the risks is difficult but the advice currently is that vaccination is preferable.
3. My child is older than 5 and had one dose of seasonal vaccine and had temperatures and a headache. Should he have a second dose ?
Generally one dose can provide 90% protection. If the child is otherwise well it is reasonable to suspend the second dose until more information becomes available. For those with underlying illnessess it would be preferential to have the second dose. Another option would be to consider the swine flu vaccine if not given prior.
Comment
No doubt there will be a great deal of discussion in the community and the media regarding the change in advice by the health authorities.
It is important to remember that the health authorities have acted quickly when it was clear there were concerns the risks of seasonal vaccination for under 5yo outweighed the benefits.
The anti vaccination groups will no doubt use this as further 'evidence' against vaccination. But remember that if their claims regarding vaccination have any truth, the same system that has detected the current problem, would surely have detected other trends.
So this current issue is purely about seasonal flu vaccination in the under 5s and not the other scheduled vaccinations.
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