Children should be vaccinated against the flu from six months of age, according to Australian recommendations.
Its reported almost two-thirds of Australian parents don’t plan to amid fears it will make their children sick, but paediatrician Dr Anthea Rhodes from the Royal Children’s Hospital told Ross and John that is a misconception.
“That’s a myth, it’s really important that we try and re-educate families, that the current flu vaccines that we have out in Australia, that have been tested and are on the market for children are safe”, she said.
Dr Rhodes said that children under the age of five are the most likely to get serious complications from flu.
“Those little kids’ are the ones most likely to catch it in the first place, and if they do, they are more likely to get seriously unwell and lined up in hospital”, she said.