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The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) currently recommends annual influenza vaccination for all children aged 6 months to 18 years (JW Pediatr Adolesc Med Mar 12 2008). This recommendation is designed to protect children from morbidity and mortality associated with influenza and to decrease viral shedding in the community, since children frequently are vectors for transmission. In a recent Cochrane review, investigators evaluated the efficacy (defined as prevention of laboratory-confirmed influenza), effectiveness (prevention of influenza-like illness), and safety profile of influenza vaccines in healthy children.
The authors reviewed 51 randomized or cohort studies to evaluate five primary outcome measures: laborator…