National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) highlights the importance of getting a flu vaccine to stay healthy and prevent the spread of influenza. It’s especially crucial for children and those at higher risk of complications.

• A 2022 study showed that flu vaccination reduced children’s risk of severe life-threatening influenza by 75 percent.
• A 2020 study found that during the 2018-2019 flu season, flu vaccination reduced flu-related hospitalization by 41 percent and flu-related emergency department visits by half among children (aged 6 months to 17 years old).
• In 2017, a study in the journal Pediatrics was the first of its kind to show that flu vaccination also significantly reduced a child’s risk of dying from flu. The study, which looked at data from four flu seasons between 2010 and 2014, found that flu vaccination reduced the risk of flu-associated death by half (51 percent) among children with underlying, higher risk medical conditions and by nearly two-thirds (65 percent) among healthy children.
• A 2014 study showed that flu vaccine reduced children’s risk of flu-related pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission by 74 percent during flu seasons from 2010-2012

Visit our on-demand library at gaepic.org or our resource page below to learn more about how you can help address flu concerns this season