The flu vaccine is safe for infants and toddlers from 6 to 23 months old, a study reported Wednesday in the Journal of American Medical Association.

The study, the largest of its kind in the United States, found there were only a few incidents of side effects that required medical treatment as a result of the vaccine, and none was serious.

"This is really good news for both doctors and parents who want to protect young children from influenza and complications of this nasty illness," said Simon Hambidge of Kaiser Permanente Colorado, chief author of the report.

The latest study looked at more than 45,000 children in eight U.S. healthcare plans, who were vaccinated between 1991 and 2003. As a group they had received more than 69,000 vaccinations.

The researchers found very few post-vaccination problems that required a doctor's intervention, "none of which were serious."

"Our study, the largest safety study of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in children aged 6 to 23 months, adds to prior evidence that influenza vaccine is safe in infants and young children," the report said.

Editor: Donald