The use of influenza vaccine among children should not be encouraged because it may cause discomfort to their body. For instance, it may cause side effects like Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and pain at the site of injection. GBS is a nerve disorder which affects the peripheral nervous system (Maglio Christopher & Toale n.d.). GBS victims will usually feel frail, have breathing difficulties and may be paralysed from the hands to the legs in serious cases (Maglio Christopher & Toale n.d.). …show more content…
A reason to support this argument is because the vaccine may cause allergic reactions in some children which can threaten their life such as the egg allergy. Egg allergy occurs when a person’s self defence mechanism identifies egg protein as a dangerous substance and tries to eliminate it (Mayo Clinic Staff 2015). On rare occasions, egg allergy can lead to a complication called anaphylaxis which causes the body to become hypersensitive to the allergen and can be fatal (Mayo Clinic 2015). A child with anaphylaxis can experience shortness of breath, dizziness and inflammation of skin which requires the child to be sent to the hospital instantly and receive epinephrine shot (Mayo Clinic Staff 2013). AllergicChild.com (n.d.) reports that anaphylaxis triggered from food allergy had killed around 200 people yearly in USA. Moreover, influenza vaccine also should not be recommended to children who had Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in the past (Boulanger n.d.). This is because influenza shot may cause the child to have GBS again as it is one of the side effects of influenza vaccine (Maglio Christopher & Toale n.d.). Hence, children should not take influenza vaccine because not every child’s immune system can tolerate with the vaccine’s ingredient and may result in