Benefits of Vaccination Children two years and under have a 12 times higher risk of developing the flu than children five to seven years old without a flu vaccine. The federal panel deemed it necessary to encourage flu vaccinations for babies 6 to 23 months old, because of the greater risk of infection. People at the age of 65 and older along with anyone with chronic illness also have a higher chance of becoming infected with the flu if not vaccinated. The federal panel decided to recommend giving the flu vaccine to people who fall into this category in October and everyone else in November to improve the outbreak of flu. “The current flu season got off to a slower-than-usual start,” says Fukuda, “but the number of cases has been increasing for the past three weeks, and there is no evidence that the season has peaked.” The flu vaccine is highly recommended for babies to protect them. (Anita, Manning) The FDA-approved vaccination of shingles lowered the risk of developing it by 50% in people over the age of 60. The vaccination also lowered the possibility of shingles …show more content…
On the other hand an influenza vaccine during all trimesters is safe and effective. This is recommended by professional organizations like American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Even with these recommendations the U.S. vaccination rates still remain low for suck a high-risk population. Pregnancy can cause decreased lung capacity, increased stroke volume, heart rate and immune response changes which increase the risk of being infected with influenza. The disease has been known to increase the risk of neonatal intensive care unit admission, stillbirth, and preterm birth. Since influenza normally caused a fever this can lead to severe complications in the baby which include neural tube defects and many other congenital abnormalities. (Mollard, Elizabeth