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Thirty-four percent of parents said their child would likely not be vaccinated against the flu this year, according to a survey conducted by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Michigan.
(NEW YORK) – The flu season last year was among the deadliest that the United States has seen in decades. But with this year's flu season already underway, about a third of parents say their children will not be vaccinated, according to a recent poll.
Thirty-four percent of parents said their child would likely not be vaccinated against the flu this year, according to a survey conducted by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Michigan.
Parents who chose to do without the vaccine for their children were seven times more likely to cite sources that made them doubt the vaccine or did not want it at all. According to the survey, these parents often based their decision on comments from family members or close friends, other parents, websites, comments from health care providers for their children, and books or parent magazines.
"Parents who take this approach can meet a variety of sources of information. Some of these sources may offer accurate information, while others distort information, suggesting, for example, that influenza vaccines cause influenza, that influenza is not a serious disease, or that children with good health do not suffer serious consequences of the flu, "according to survey analysis.
The nationally representative survey was based on the responses of 1,977 parents with at least one child aged 1 to 18 years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 185 children died during the 2017-2018 influenza season. Eighty percent of them have not received the flu shot.
According to the CDC, more than 900,000 people were hospitalized for the flu during last year's flu season and more than 80,000 people died. Although some people, such as the elderly or those with compromised immune systems, are more likely to cause life-threatening complications, anybody can get the flu.
The CDC recommends that all persons 6 months of age and older be vaccinated before the end of October so that the body has time, before the peak of the influenza season, to develop an immune response. However, the vaccine can still benefit those who receive it after October.
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