Protecting Your Children From the Flu-
10.18.2021
The following reprint, written by Betsy Groth, is from an article that appeared in the Old Saybrook Early Childhood Council newsletter and local newspaper.
The leaves are only just beginning to change from dark green to their golden, red and burnt orange hues. But now is the time for everyone, especially our youngest citizens to get protection from the influenza virus, or "flu".
Despite common belief, flu is not a "stomach bug", with vomiting as its main symptom. The symptoms of flu include cough, fever, headache, body aches and extreme fatigue. These symptoms can last as long as 2 weeks, and the virus is highly contagious. Complications include ear infections and bacterial pneumonia.
It is not possible to predict what this flu season will be like, in terms of length, onset or severity. The Centers for Disease Control recommends that parents schedule their children's flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available, preferably by October.
All children 6 months of age and older should receive flu vaccine. Children between age 6 months and 8 years of age may need 2 doses of vaccine, 4 weeks apart, to be fully protected.
Since babies younger than 6 months of age cannot receive flu vaccine, it is very important that family, friends and caregivers receive the vaccine to protect our most vulnerable little citizens.
Some common objections to getting the flu vaccine include the following:
"It did not work very well last year": True, but that is not a predictor of this year and people who received the vaccine last year fared better than those who did not.
"The flu vaccine makes you sick": No longer true. May have some truth in the early days of the flu vaccine, when it was made from large proteins.
Schedule you child's flu vaccine today, as a way of keeping him or her happy and healthy in 2019!
