CDC panel recommends all kids get flu shots

ATLANTA - A federal advisory panel says annual flu vaccinations should be given to all children ages 6 months through 18 years.

The panel's decision announced today represents a call for about 30 million more kids to get vaccinated. If heeded, it would prompt one of the largest expansions in flu vaccination coverage in U.S. history.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel's advice is routinely adopted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issues vaccination guidelines to doctors and hospitals.

The panel and the CDE have in the past recommended flu shots for people considered to be at highest risk of death or serious illness from the flu. That list includes children ages 6 months to 5 years of age, adults 50 and older, and people with weakened immune systems.

Children ages 5 to 18 get flu at higher rates than other age groups, but they don't tend to get as sick from it. CDC officials say of the 36,000 estimated annual deaths attributed to the flu, only 25 to 50 occur in children in that age bracket.

But some experts say kids who stay home sick from school cause parents to stay home. They reason reducing the illness in the children should cut down on days of lost work in their parents and adult contacts.

Experts believe the recommendation also may reduce illness in adults and the elderly, although studies haven't clearly established that will happen.