A landmark study looking at how to limit the spread of influenza has shown what experts have long believed but hadn't until now proved: Giving flu shots to kids helps protect everyone in a community from the virus. The study, led by Dr. Mark Loeb of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., showed the risk of catching the flu was lowered by nearly 60 per cent in communities where a substantial portion of kids aged three to 15 got flu shots. That level of indirect protection is nearly as good as what healthy adults might expect from getting a flu shot themselves and is perhaps better than what a senior with a waning immune system might expect from a flu vaccination.
“Children are heavily involved in (flu) transmission. If you prevent disease in children, then you’re going to prevent infection in older individuals,” Dr. Arnold Monto, a flu expert at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said when asked to comment on the study.
More via The Canadian Press: Want to reduce amount of flu in adults? Vaccinate kids, study shows.