Who Should Get a Flu Shot
There should't be any formal shortages this year and there aren't any restrictions on getting flu shots this year, so anyone who wants a flu shot can get one.High risk groups who should get a flu shot this flu season include:
- children aged 6–59 months
- pregnant women
- persons aged 50 years and older,
- children and adults with most chronic health conditions, including asthma, diabetes, and immune system problems
- residents of long-term care facilities
- household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children aged <6 months or in other high risk groups above
- health-care personnel who provide direct patient care
And remember that even if your child is not in a high risk group, he can still get a flu vaccine if you want to simply reduce his risk of getting the flu this year.
Other Vaccination Recommendations
- Healthy persons who are 5-49 years of age and not pregnant, including health-care workers (except those who care for severely immunocompromised patients in special care units) and persons caring for children aged less than 6 months can be vaccinated with intranasally administered live, attenuated influenza vaccine (Flumist).
- People should not get a flu vaccine if they have a severe allergy to chicken eggs, have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination in the past, have developed Guillain-Barre syndrome within 6 weeks of getting an influenza vaccine previously, if they are less than 6 months old, or if they have a moderate or severe illness with a fever.
Updated for the 2006-2007 Flu Season.
For more information, please visit our guide to Kids and the Flu.
