Daily HealthBeat Tip - September 05, 2007

Odds on the flu shot

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Getting a kid a flu shot. Is it worth the trouble? Researchers ran the numbers to find out, and they say the answer is yes.

Elizabeth Lewis analyzed how many kids from ages 6 months to 5 years would have to get a flu shot to prevent one of those kids from needing medical care.

"If 50 children or fewer are vaccinated, that would prevent one outpatient visit or doctor’s office visit due to influenza." (7 seconds)

And Lewis says that’s based on statistically lowballing the power of the vaccine to prevent disease. So the real benefit may be greater.

Lewis’ conclusion: That shot is worth it.

Lewis, who’s at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, did the study while at Vanderbilt. The research in the journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: September, 05 2007