Many moms have no plans to get their kids flu shots

A third of American mothers are unlikely to get their children flu shots, according to a survey commissioned by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Another poll by the same group finds 43 percent of Americans say they won’t get vaccinated themselves. Among those who say they’ll abstain from flu shots, 62 percent worried the vaccinations could give them the flu (it can’t) or cause side effects (serious reactions are extremely, extremely rare).

“These one-third of moms who say they won’t vaccinate should wake up,” says ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross. “The flu is serious, it can kill, it seems to attack infants especially hard, and the flu vaccine is safe.”