(WHDH) — With flu season upon us, parents are making the important decision about whether or not to vaccinate their kids.
According to a poll released by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, 34 percent of parents surveyed said they will not be vaccinating their children against the flu this year.
Of those polled, almost half said they typically follow the recommendations of their pediatrician and another 21 percent said they don’t remember their doctor mentioning anything about the vaccine.
The top three reasons parents gave for not vaccinating their children were they were concerned about possible side effects, they don’t think it works well, and their child is healthy and doesn’t need it.
Last flu season, 179 children died and hundreds more were hospitalized because of the illness.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 percent of the children who died had not been vaccinated.
While doctors agree the vaccination isn’t perfect, they still advise it as the best prevention against the influenza virus.
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