Public health officials bet if they can stop the spread of the flu among children this season, they will make inroads into an illness responsible for 200,000 hospitalizations each year.

So the message is clear: If you are a parent of children aged 6 months to 19 years old, get them vaccinated — for their own protection as well as everyone else’s.

The recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been expanded from previous guidelines in which vaccination was recommended for children only up to 4 years old.

The standard advice still holds. Get vaccinated for the flu if you are in certain high-risk categories: health-care workers, pregnant women, people 50 and older, people of any age with chronic medical conditions or compromised immune systems and people who live in nursing homes or long-term care facilities.

Getting vaccinated, however, is good advice across the board. This year, more than ever, people can take the advice. Vaccine makers project as many as 143 million to 146 million doses of influenza vaccine will be produced for use in the United States during the 2008-09 influenza season. “This is an all-time high supply of vaccine making it possible for more people than ever to seek protection from the flu,” according to the CDC Web site at cdc.gov/flu.

This is a change from previous years, in which the supply was not so plentiful and the government recommended only people in high-risk groups get vaccinated.

To protect against the flu season, which typically peaks in January or February, vaccine is available already in many places. See your doctor, visit a county health clinic or consult the CDC’s Flu Clinic Locator at flucliniclocator.org. Getting vaccinated now offers protection for the entire flu season.

That’s just the first step in fighting the flu, which kills about 36,000 people a year (including 100 children). Wash your hands — a lot. Keep your distance from sick people. Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth.

And, if you do get sick, get treatment immediately. There are several antiviral drugs that can help shorten the progression of the disease.

Flu is not just a bad cold and it’s not an upset stomach. It’s a serious illness that everyone has a stake in preventing. Get your shot.

Rockford Register Star