I got the flu shot for the first time this past fall, soon after I started working at Consumers Union, thanks to my new employer’s policy of offering free flu immunization to all of its employees. And, possibly no coincidence, I didn’t get the flu this year—though my wife and youngest daughter did. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that my wife, as a health-care professional, should have gotten the vaccine. But, like a lot of people, for one reason or another she just didn’t. My healthy 11-year-old daughter, on the other hand, wasn’t a candidate for the shot—until now.

Previously, the recommendation was for children from 6 months through 4 years old to be vaccinated. However, a panel of immunization experts voted on Feb. 27 to expand the recommended ages for annual flu shots for kids to include all children from age 6 months through 18 years old. The panel said that the recommendation should start “as soon as feasible,” and no later than the 2009-2010 flu season.

While the flu season is already in full swing, and there are concerns that this year’s flu shot isn’t as effective as some, there are still lots of good reasons for you, and your kids, to get vaccinated:

• As we reported in October 2007, the disease can peak in April or May, so even a late, and less-than-perfect, shot is better than none
• We think that all adults should consider getting an annual flu shot, not just those at highest risk
• Though some parents avoid the shot because of safety concerns, our analysis of the research suggests those fears are unfounded
• Children are prime transmitters of the flu. The illness causes a lot of children to miss school, and parents to miss work—as I know all too well.

Read more about:
Flu prevention and our Treatment Ratings (for subscribers)
CDC flu recommendations
Our recommendations on other adult vaccines and a childhood vaccine checklist

—Joel Keehn, senior health editor