
Families Fighting Flu was established for the children who die each year
due to the influenza virus (commonly called "the flu"). The non-profit
organization is a group of families and pediatricians who have experienced
first-hand what it is like to lose a child to the flu or to have a child
experience severe medical complications from the flu. The organization was
incorporated in 2005 with the mission of reducing pediatric deaths due to the
flu by raising awareness about the importance of getting all children
vaccinated against the flu.
Families Fighting Flu, the first organization of its kind, is urging the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices (ACIP) — the group of experts who provide advice and
guidance to the CDC on the most effective means to help prevent
vaccine-preventable diseases — to recommend annual universal pediatric
influenza vaccination to ensure that parents get their children vaccinated
against the flu every year. The organization encourages all families and
individuals who have either lost a child to the flu or whose child has
experienced medical complications from the virus to come forward and join
together through this organization for support, flu research and prevention.
Losing a child is a parent's worst nightmare, but together, these families and
pediatricians can help one another by working toward the important goal of
preventing the flu among children.
Providing a meeting place for families and friends, this site is a way for
members to realize they are not alone in this fight against influenza. The
organization gives them a chance to channel their grief into helping to save
others by encouraging annual flu vaccination for all children in the United
States.
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