As per U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza vaccine can effectively prevent deaths from flu.

If your kid is below 5 years and vaccines have not been done yet, vaccination should be done as soon as possible.

Around 115 children died between September 2010 to August 2011 in U.S. Actually parents are more worried because around 20 percent of children were already given the vaccination, around 50 percent were quite healthy and their vulnerability to flu was not diagnosed.

But researchers have some different opinion. They believe that children who died despite vaccination were having some more problems and underlying health issues. No doubt, influenza vaccine can save people from flu but not from weak immune system. The other health issues which they were having weakened their immune system which became the reason of their death.

“We know the flu vaccine isn’t 100 percent effective, especially not in children with high risk medical conditions. That’s why it’s essential that these two medical tools be fully utilized. Vaccinate first; then use influenza anti-viral drugs as a second line of defense against the flu. “, stated Dr.Lyn Finelli, the Chief of CDC’s Surveillance and Outbreak Response System.

Influenza is a potentially fatal disease, affecting millions each year. The best way to protect against it is by antivirus influenza immunization. FluLaval, produced by the Canadian firm ID Biomedical Corporation, a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline, is a Thimerosal-preserved, inactivated influenza-vaccine.

FluLaval is recommended everyone above the age of 18 to protect against influenza, commonly known as the “flu”. Influenza is a disease cause by the influenza types A and B. The vaccine has an inactivated influenza virus which aids to strengthen the immune system against the disease.

Great precaution should be taken in administering FluLaval. It isn’t recommended for anyone with allergies, especially egg allergies or egg-product allergies since the virus is matured in chicken egg. People with life-threatening ailments or disorders which involve neurological disorder should not get the vaccine. It isn’t recommended for children younger than 18 years of age.

There are some minor side effects of the vaccine which includes tenderness, swelling, pain, redness, headache, fatigue and malaise. The side effects are very minor and shouldn’t be a cause of concern.

FluLaval can be found in 5 ml multi dose vials, which consist of 10 doses. A single dose is 0.5 ml that is administered intra-muscularly. It should also not be given in combination with other drugs and/or treatments.

It is not considered advisable for pregnant mothers, nursing mothers, pediatric use and geriatric (age greater than 75 years) use. People who live in high-risk areas, like the medical occupation, during travel abroad, people who work in old-homes or long-term care centers are normally advised to get the complete influenza treatment FluLaval provides.

It is normally administered in September or October of a year, and provides protection for the next 365 days. Next year, another dose is followed up which protects against the strain of virus that is expected to be prevalent that year.