LAUSR

Influence often have severe consequences in the short and long term, and could cause fatal outcomes in some of the sick people. We evaluated the impact of flu vaccines on the health of children in the months following the epidemics, comparing these data with those of children who, on the other hand, caught the flu. The present study was performed between 2014/15 and 2018/19 (5 seasons), focusing on children aged between 6 months and 14 years old, and it compared two group of children, sorted according to whether they received the flu vaccine or contracted flu. We demonstrate, in a statistically significant way, that children who get vaccinated with the seasonal flu vaccine catch fewer diseases in the following months, compared to those who catch the flu, especially with respect to the feared acute otitis media and wheezing. Moreover, vaccinated children receive fewer antibiotic therapies and, consequently, they attend the office of the family pediatrician less. We conclude that flu vaccine protects any child, even if this child is healthy, and does not suffer from any preexisting pathology, during the months after vaccination.