What was the reason for the change in seasonal flu recommendations for young people?
It was a way to try to phase in a pretty dramatic extension of our recommendations for influenza. For this year, it’s recommended for ages 6 months to 18 years. Last year, it was “as feasible” for 6 month to 18 years, the year before that it was 6 months to 5 years, and the year before that was 6 months to 2 years. So it’s been a gradual increase. There’s been a discussion for more than 5 years about expanding this to just universal immunization — everybody at all ages. We are actually relatively close to that now because, remember , we recommend it for anybody at high risk, anyone with an underlying condition that influenza would make them sicker than usual, we recommend it now for all children that are old enough to get it – the vaccine is not licensed for children under 6 months. We recommend it for family members of children under 6 months so they are protected and don’t give it to these young babies, and then it is recommended for household members or caregivers of anyone with un
