A study in the Journal of Pediatrics reports that infants and toddlers are less likely to contract flu, pneumonia or influenza like illnesses, if given two doses of the influenza vaccine.
Dr Mandy A Allison, of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and colleagues examined the effectiveness of the currently recommended two-dose influenza vaccine for young children, as well as the effect of one dose of the vaccine, in preventing visits to the doctor for influenza-like illness.
They analyzed data for 5193 healthy children between the ages of 6 and 21 months who were seen at five Denver pediatric practices during the 2003-2004 flu season. The results confirm the effectiveness of two doses of flu vaccine and “lend support to the recommendation for universal immunization against influenza in 6- to 23-month-old children,” Allison’s team concludes.