Hudson Valley Parent

HVP October 2016

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hvparent.com n Hudson Valley Parent 19 the same vaccine schedule as other children. Daly isn't convinced. "I would immunize him, but given Robbie's genetic makeup... nobody could tell me for sure that it isn't going to harm him and I'm not willing to take that chance," she says. Dr. Meg Fisher, a pediatric in- fectious disease specialist with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says it's particularly import- ant that kids with special needs are protected against all vaccine-pre- ventable diseases. "All of these infections that are dangerous to children with usual needs are, indeed, dangerous to children with special needs," adds Dr. Fisher, who also is a member of the organization's infections and outbreaks committee. In fact, she says, during the in- fluenza pandemic of 2009, children with special needs were over-repre- sented in both intensive care units and in developing severe complica- tions from the flu, whether or not they had an existing respiratory condition. Immunization issues According to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), only half of children with neurologic or neu- rodevelopmental conditions get flu shots each year. Although that number is close to the flu vaccina- (Continued on Page 20) &KHFNRXW RXUQHZ ZDLWLQJURRP 6SHFLDOL]LQJLQ FKLOGUHQIURP LQIDQF\WRWHHQV "All of these infections that are dangerous to children with usual needs are, indeed, dangerous to children with special needs." MEG FISHER, MD Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist

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