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Swine flu vaccine now available for kids

Tue, Oct 6, 2009 — U.S. children age 2 and older can now receive the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine, which is arriving at distribution centers across the country this week.

The first shipments of the vaccine consist of about two million doses of a nasal spray called FluMist. Children younger than 2 shouldn't receive this form of the vaccine, but it's safe for those 2 and older. The nasal spray vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women.

Children old enough to get the nasal spray safely and adults who care for infants are being encouraged to get their vaccinations now, according to the CDC.

Next week, the first doses of the injectable version of the vaccine will start being shipped, said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The shot can be given to children 6 months and older. It's also safe for pregnant women.

Even when the shot becomes available, children 9 years old and younger may need a series of two shots in order to be fully immune.

The CDC is working to assure the public that the vaccine is safe and effective -- and that no serious side effects have been reported.

According to Frieden, the most common myths about getting the H1N1 vaccine include the notions that the H1N1 flu is typically mild and that the vaccine's testing was rushed. Both are incorrect, Frieden said.

"Flu is not a mild illness," he said. "Some people may die from it."

"We have cut no corners," said Frieden. "This flu vaccine is made as the flu vaccine is made each year, by the same companies, in the same production facilities, with the same procedures, with the same safety safeguards." He added that the CDC has a "high degree of confidence" in the vaccine's safety.

"Flu vaccine is our best tool to protect against the flu," Frieden said.

Jessica Kelmon, BabyCenter News