Childhood Flu Shots Prevent Millions of Cases, Study Finds

TUESDAY, June 2, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Pediatric flu vaccines significantly reduce cases of influenza among children, a new study finds.

For every 100 children vaccinated, as many as 14 fewer children come down with the flu, researchers reported June 1 in JAMA Pediatrics.

"In the United States, that's hundreds of thousands, if not a million cases of flu that we can avoid each year," senior researcher Dr. Anupam Jena said in a news release. He’s a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

"That's a huge effect size,” he said.

The results come during an ongoing assault by the Trump administration on the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule.