We are in a propitious time for them to arrive the flu, and sometimes strongly. In Spain, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics recommends vaccinating those over six months belonging to risk groups, children over this age and healthy adults living with children at risk.
However, this criterion is not followed worldwide (in fact a few years ago the AEP itself recommended a more extensive vaccination), and in the United States we find that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends universal flu vaccination in over six months.
In general, recommendations to vaccinate healthy children against the flu In Europe they are rare, and this is due to previous data available on the low effectiveness and efficiency of the vaccine (especially in younger children), the limited data on its safety and its low acceptability as it is an injection annual intramuscular.
In this regard, and given the differences in criteria, the review of the available scientific literature can provide data on the efficacy, effectiveness and safety of influenza vaccination in children. It's what the study authors have done "Should we vaccinate all children against the flu?", published in Evidence in Pediatrics.
This is a systematic review with meta-analysis to study the effects of influenza vaccines available in healthy children to assess their efficacy, effectiveness and available safety data. 75 papers were taken into account, although only 41 were suitable for meta-analysis.
It follows that more trials are needed to prove the efficacy and safety of influenza vaccines, especially in the group of younger children, since below two years it is not possible to draw conclusions.
The efficacy of live virus vaccines in randomized clinical trials was 80% between two and six years with a necessary number of six vaccinations to prevent a case of influenza. The effectiveness of inactivated vaccines decreases while increasing the number of vaccinations needed to prevent.
The conclusions of the study indicate that National influenza vaccination policies for healthy children are based on unreliable data. Vaccines are effective in preventing the disease in people older than two years, but there is little evidence of efficacy in children under this age. For my part, I have never considered vaccinating my daughters that are not included in the cases recommended by the AEP, nor do I know cases that have done the opposite. But will it be the general trend in other countries?
