The flu, also known as influenza, is more dangerous than the common cold for children and poses a serious threat to the health and well-being of students and their families each year.  

• Children commonly need medical care because of the flu,  especially before they turn 5, and each year an average of  20,000 children under the age of 5 are hospitalized  because of flu complications.  
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  estimates that since 2010, flu hospitalizations among  children younger than 5 years ranged from 7,000 to  26,000 in the United States.  
• While relatively rare, even healthy children die from the flu  each year. Since 2004-2005, flu-related deaths in children  reported to CDC during regular flu seasons have ranged from  37 deaths to 171 deaths.  
• Severe flu complications are most common in children  younger than 2, and children with chronic health problems,  like asthma and diabetes, are at especially high risk of  developing serious flu complications. 

Click here for more information on the dangers of the flu .

 Why is the HPV vaccine important? 

• About 14 million people, including teens, become infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) each year. HPV is a group of more than 150 related viruses that cause nearly all cervical cancers and many cancers of the vagina, vulva, penis, anus, rectum and oropharynx. HPV is named for the warts (papilloma) that some HPV types can cause. 

 Click here for more information on the dangers of HPV.