Protect your children from the flu

Now more than ever, it is important to protect yourself and your children from the seasonal flu by getting a flu shot.

Vittorio Jacoby, 6, got his flu shot early this year, and wants other children to know that “it is easy, fast, and you barely feel anything!” Jacoby is the son of Bradley Jacoby, DO, assistant chief of Pediatrics at the Kaiser Permanente Moreno Valley Heacock Medical Offices. 

After Jacoby got his flu shot, Elisha Jerge, a licensed vocational nurse at Kaiser Permanente, congratulated him with a high five.

Fight the flu

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu puts thousands of children in the hospital every year. The flu can be dangerous, even for healthy children.

It is important that everyone in your family who is 6 months and older gets vaccinated against the flu each year, ideally by the end of October. Getting the flu shot reduces the severity of flu illness and risk of hospitalization, and can be lifesaving.

Children under 5 who get the flu often need medical care and are at higher risk for flu-related problems. This is usually because they have weaker immune systems. Their symptoms tend to be more severe or they can develop serious health complications like pneumonia, bronchitis, or respiratory failure.

Influenza is associated with serious illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths, particularly among older adults, very young children, pregnant people, and people of all ages with certain ongoing medical conditions.

Know the facts

There are a lot of myths out there, from how effective the flu vaccine is to how serious the flu virus can be. Get to know the facts about the seasonal flu and flu vaccine, and keep yourself and your family healthy.

Seasonal flu vaccinations, and COVID-19 boosters and vaccinations, are available at no cost for Kaiser Permanente members. Find a flu shot near you.