H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccine: 2 Doses for the Little Ones

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

Now it looks like children under the age of 10 will require 2 injections of the H1N1 vaccine (and probably 2 doses of the inhaled version, as well, if parents decide to go that route).

While most kids older than 10 were shown to have a sufficient immune response to one dose of the vaccine, among the little kids, only about a third developed enough antibodies to be considered immune and have a chance of fighting off an H1N1 infection after one dose. The recommendations will probably be to give the second "booster"dose about 3 weeks after the children receive the first one, although this has not been decided definitively.

So (just to repeat), at this point, it looks like adults and children over the age of 10 will do fine with one dose, while kids under the age of 10 will need two doses of the H1N1 vaccine to be protected.

Note: There seems to be a little confusion in some of the media out there as to how many doses of the seasonal flu vaccine children will need this year. It's simple: if this is the very first year your child will receive a flu vaccine, they will need 2 doses (if they are 9 years old or younger). If they have ever had a flu vaccine before (even if you skipped a year), one dose of seasonal flu vaccine will protect them. Anyone older than 10 will only need one dose of seasonal flu vaccine.