Vaccine, Vaccination | featured news

As the country's flu outbreak becomes an epidemic, odds are that you've had a few sheepish feelings about not doing something you probably should have: Gotten a flu shot. As of this November, the majority of American adults 64.8 percent, to be exact had not received a flu immunization. This wasn't a surprise to researchers: Flu is a disease with one of the lowest vaccination rates.

Two new studies offer good news for newborns and children about two different vaccinations -- flu vaccine for pregnant women, and rotavirus vaccine for infants.

Because of the risks from flu, they should be among the first in line to get both the H1N1 and seasonal influenza shots, medical experts say. Yet many are averse to vaccinations or medication.

As the H1N1 influenza vaccine trickles into clinics and pharmacies over the next few weeks, public health officials and doctors desperately hope that pregnant women will be at the front of the line for the shot.

A federal advisory committee issued sweeping guidelines Wednesday for a vaccination campaign against the pandemic swine flu strain, identifying more than half the U.S. population as targets for the first round of vaccinations.