Vaccinating Asthmatic children beneficial??

[Guest guest]

They can find any reason to promote vaccinating, can't they? Doe it

EVER end???

~Donna

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Tuesday April 10 5:29 PM ET

Flu Vaccine Protects Children with Asthma

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The influenza vaccine can protect

children with severe asthma from developing life-threatening attacks,

a team of national scientists reports.

The findings support recommendations by a number of national medical

organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, to

vaccinate asthmatic children against influenza (flu).

The current study of over 22,000 children aged 1 to 6 years over

three consecutive asthma seasons found that the flu vaccine lowered

the rate of severe attacks by between 59% and 78%, compared with the

period before they were vaccinated. Only about 10% of all children

with asthma are vaccinated each year, the researchers note.

Vaccinating all young asthma patients could lead to substantial

reductions in the number of children with the chronic respiratory

disorder who seek emergency treatment for severe attacks, the report

indicates.

``Our...results suggest that influenza vaccination may protect

against asthma attacks during influenza seasons,'' Dr. Piotr Kramarz

from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web

sites) in Atlanta, Georgia, and colleagues report in the March issue

of The Journal of Pediatrics.

Influenza and other respiratory viruses can exacerbate episodes of

asthma, leading to wheezing and a greater likelihood that the patient

will require hospitalization. While the vaccine has been shown to

protect asthmatic children from flu outbreaks, its effects on severe

asthma attacks has been unclear.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Kathleen M. Neuzil, of the

University of Washington and VA Puget Sound Health Care System in

Seattle, Washington, recommends the establishment of local and

national initiatives to boost the rate of vaccination among the

nearly 5 million US children who suffer from asthma.

``Although the relative importance of influenza in children with

asthma has been debated, a growing body of evidence suggests that

asthmatic children do experience excess complications during

influenza season,'' she writes. ``Current vaccine coverage rates for

influenza among children with asthma are unacceptable.''

The results of the study are based on an analysis of data from a

national registry on vaccine safety.

SOURCE: The Journal of Pediatrics 2001;138:301-303, 306-310.