Infectious Diseases A-Z: Flu vaccine reduces a child's risk of death

A first-of-its kind study shows that children vaccinated against influenza significantly lowered their chances of dying from the flu. Dr. Gregory Poland , director of the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, says the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) study is very important "because we’re looking at the most severe outcome of influenza, which is death. Between 2010 and 2015, the CDC identified 358 kids in the U.S. that died of influenza–a completely preventable death. What they found was that if we gave these kids vaccine, we could protect them about 65 percent of the time. The vaccine’s not a perfect vaccine, but we could prevent about 65 percent of those deaths."