Dangerously Few Children Are Getting Flu Shots, Health Dept Warns

With flu season in full swing, the Health Department has released some sobering flu shot statistics, noting that many unvaccinated children went unprotected against the illness last year.

According to officials, about 169 children in the United States died of complications from the flu last year; four of those deaths were in New York City. And though the Health Department has been urging parents to vaccinate children over 6 months of age against the flu—a recent measure requires flu vaccinations for children in public day care centers and preschools—a new report on influenza [pdf] found that over one third of children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years old went unvaccinated last year.

The Health Department says it's not just young children who are at high risk. Pregnant women who come down with the flu are more likely to go into premature labor, according to officials, and flu vaccinations administered to pregnant women also help protect newborns against the disease until they're vaccinated at 6 months of age. Less than half of the city's pregnant women received flu vaccinations between August 2010 and 2011, according to officials.

Even though both the Center for Disease Control and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommend pregnant women get flu shots, some are still wary of the vaccination's effects; a pregnant nurse in Pennsylvania was recently fired for refusing the shot, out of fear that she would suffer a miscarriage.

The Health Department's data notes that only 62 percent of New Yorkers ages 65 and older reported receiving flu shots. And individuals who suffer from chronic illnesses are also at high risk for influenza, even though only 49 percent of asthmatics and 59 percent of diabetics reported getting vaccinated last year. "The flu can also make chronic health problems worse," a spokesperson for the Health Department told us, noting that flu complications include pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus and ear infections. "For example, people with asthma may experience asthma attacks while they have the flu, and people with chronic pulmonary diseases may experience worsening of their condition that is triggered by the flu."

According to Health Department statistics, influenza and pneumonia is the third leading cause of death in New York City, with between 2,200 and 3,000 New Yorkers succumbing to the illnesses annually.