Protecting young children from influenza.

Influenza is a major global cause of childhood morbidity and mortality [1, 2], and puts a strain on healthcare resources, particularly during epidemics and pandemics [3, 4]. Annual seasonal influenza vaccination programmes were launched to help reduce the burden of influenza but there is variation between countries on which children are targeted. Certain national programmes (for example, in Canada and the USA) recommend universal influenza vaccination [5, 6] while most European countries still focus mainly on groups considered to be at greater risk of influenza-related complications [7]. These include children with certain known underlying medical conditions and those under 2 years of age [8, 9].