Influenza Vaccination During Pregnancy Protects Newborns

Katherine A. Poehling, MD, MPH., an associate professor of pediatrics, answers questions about her recent study that found that infants born to mothers who received the flu vaccine while pregnant were nearly 50 percent less likely to be hospitalized for the flu than babies born to mothers who did not receive the vaccine while pregnant. Infants less than 6 months of age have the highest rates of flu hospitalization among all children, yet the influenza vaccine is not licensed for or effective in infants that young. Receiving the flu vaccine while pregnant provides critical protection for these infants.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• flu shots
• flu vaccine
• infants
• influenza
• katherine a. poehling
• news media
• pediatric
• pediatrics
• pregnancy

[houndjog]

Parents should research the safety of vaccinations before blindly following the crowd.