Why Vaccinate Healthy 2- to 17-Year-Olds Against Influenza?

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) recommended extending flu shots to children aged 2-17 years without comorbidities.

For the first time this year, French healthcare professionals, like their counterparts in the United Kingdom and Spain (see box), are therefore being invited to offer this vaccination to all children.

The reasons are many. This approach seeks to reduce severe forms of disease in this population. It also aims to limit the spread of the virus within the general population and ease the burden of flu on the country's hospital systems.

Following the expansion of these recommendations, the target population for flu vaccination went from 16 million to 28 million people (ie, 40% of the general population of France). But the manufacturers are not fazed, reassuring public health planners that there will be enough vaccines to go round this year.

In terms of their safety profile, pharmacovigilance data for childhood flu vaccines available in France (including Fluarix Tetra, Vaxigrip Tetra, Influvac Tetra, Flucelvax, and Fluenz Tetra) present no specific concerns. "European and global data confirm the safety of these vaccines in children," according to health authorities.

Source: MEDspace