Doctors' died 10 days before his flu shot appointment. Now, they want to save your child

Two physicians who have lost their parents to you and your parents.

Drs. Laura and Anthony Sidari's 4-year-old son, Leon, did not get the flu vaccine last year. He died on Christmas Day, less than 48 hours after he started feeling sick.

"I did not know a condition that had already been healthy," said Laura, a psychiatrist. "This has been a hard haul for us, and we're very private people, but we're trying to help other families."

Leon was one of 185 US children who died in the 2017-18 flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – a historic high.

Approximately 80% of those children had not received a flu shot, according to the CDC.

Laura and Anthony, a rheumatologist, had wanted to get Leon and his 2-year-old brother flu shots at a pharmacy. They lived in Texas, where state law prohibits pharmacists from vaccinating anyone under the age of 7.

The couple, busy with their newborn third child, Cameron, decided to get a flu shot when they were going to the pediatrician when 2-year-old Tristan had his annual visit, scheduled for January 3.

Leon died 10 days before that appointment.

"It was not even on my radar as something that I really, really needed to prioritize," Laura said. "It just slipped through the cracks."

The Sidaris' story is all too familiar to Dr. Flor Muñoz.

For 20 years, Muñoz, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Texas Children's Hospital, has worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics to increase immunization for children.

The rates are not great: Only 47.8% of children 6 months to 17 years ago, according to the CDC, which recommends that everyone over 6 months get a flu shot.

The problem: Though adults can get flu shots at pharmacies or even at work, children do not have many options.

In most states, there are limits to the extent to which they are immunosuppressant, and the clinical immunization is more than the rule.

Only 13 states allow pharmacists to vaccinate children of any age, according to the National Association of State Pharmacy Associations.

"It's frustrating. It seems like we do not learn, "Muñoz said.

Muñoz, who is also an associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

Some states are changing their laws. New York used to give this medicine to people who have been vaccinated.

"Good for you, New York!" Muñoz said. "More should be done to make this happen in other states. There should be more of a push. "

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said more fluids clinics. Right now, he said, it's difficult for those departments to purchase large quantities of vaccine and to bill insurance.

"We need to make it easier," he said.

The Sidaris are doing their part. Last month, they sponsored a "Say Boo to the Flu" event in their hometown, Albion, New York, where 59 children were vaccinated.

Although the CDC encourages flu vaccines by the end of each year, it's especially important to get the shot well before the holidays, Muñoz said. Flu activity can peak in December, and get-togethers can make the virus spread more quickly. It takes time to get effective.

"Leon is my reason this season, and every season, for getting flu shots on time," Laura Sidari wrote on her Facebook page. "Holiday planning and fall festivities can wait, but the flu shot can not."