Vaccinating children first, reduces incidence of flu

It comes a little too late for H1N1, but not for the next flu outbreak.

New Canadian research shows vaccinating healthy children and teens first, halts the spread of influenza.

The new study found immunizing children age 3 to 15 with flu shots reduced the incidence of flu by about 60 per cent among people who were not vaccinated.

The data suggests such "herd immunity" in an entire community can be achieved if about 80 per cent of schoolchildren are immunized during a flu outbreak.

The study appears in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.