New seasonal flu vaccine recommendations from CDC

By Sheilah Downey

Though the swine flu virus has taken center stage over the past four months, the Centers for Disease Control has made a "full-out recommendation" that more people get the seasonal vaccine as soon as it becomes available.

"At this point, 83 percent of the population is recommended to get an annual flu vaccine and we recommend it for anyone who wants to reduce their risk of flu," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, of the CDC on Friday.

While in past years the CDC has "encouraged" vaccination against the seasonal flu, this year they are taking that up a notch.

"No longer just an encouragement or 'where feasible,'" said Schuchat, "but a full-out recommendation."

She added that "while we're focusing a lot of attention on the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, we do expect seasonal influenza viruses to circulate as well, and we need to be prepared for both of them."

The new seasonal flu recommendations include an annual vaccination for children aged 6 months to 18 years, said Schuchat, who also said people should think about "intensifying" their use of the seasonal vaccine.

"Unfortunately, only about 40 percent of the U.S. population received the flu vaccine last year," she said, "so we're really recommmending an intensifying use of this vaccine because it does protect against illness and complications like hospitalization and severe outcomes."