[Medical Q&A] Is it necessary to give children the flu vaccine?

Author: Wang Lin, Chief Physician, Children's Hospital, Capital Institute of Pediatrics

Reviewer: Dong Jian, Chief Physician, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University

Every winter is the season for influenza outbreaks. From a medical point of view, we recommend giving children a flu vaccine! Even if the vaccine is not necessarily the strain of the bacteria that is prevalent every year, there is still cross-immunity, which can play a certain protective role.

The current influenza vaccine is administered from October to January of the following year. Babies can only be vaccinated when they are over 6 months old.

Infants and children under 3 years old should receive 2 doses with an interval of 1 month in between; children over 3 years old should receive 1 dose.

The following points should be noted when giving your child a flu vaccine.

(1) First, confirm whether there are any contraindications. This mainly involves checking whether the child has cold symptoms. If the child is in the incubation period of a cold, there will be obvious adverse reactions after receiving the flu vaccine.

(2) Before vaccination, give your child a physical examination to check whether the throat is red or swollen, and whether the body temperature is abnormal.

(3) It is recommended to give your child a hot bath before vaccination, as bathing within 24 hours after vaccination is not recommended.

(4) Adverse reactions may occur after influenza vaccination. Systemic adverse reactions include fever, irritability, etc.; local adverse reactions include local discomfort, itching or tenderness; less common are flu-like symptoms such as runny nose and tears. If the body temperature exceeds 38.5℃ after vaccination, you should take antipyretics; if the body temperature is not very high, it is recommended to drink more water, which will usually improve significantly after 2 to 3 days.