Children who receive all recommended flu vaccine doses are less likely to catch the respiratory virus that the Center for Disease Control estimates hospitalizes 20,000 children under five years old every year. That’s according to new research published in Pediatrics by the University of Rochester Medical Center and colleagues from Vanderbilt University, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the CDC.

For anyone who has kids cold and flu season can seem like eternity.

"There's always one that's sick it seems. When you have a house with a fair amount of coughing and sneezing, it probably gets more on your radar. That's our household," said Eric Sertl.

That’s why Sertl makes sure his daughters get their flu shots.

"It's going to keep them in school, keep them healthy for the holidays, and keep it from turning into something like pneumonia. I think it makes a lot of sense," Sertl added.

A two year study at the University of Rochester confirmed what Sertl and most doctors already know.

"Sometimes things need to be proven exactly," said Dr. Geoffrey Weinberg of the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Twenty-four hundred children took part in the study. The vaccine was nearly 60 percent effective in those fully immunized. Since the vaccines are created by guessing what strains of the virus will circulate, it's not an exact science.

"The good news is that even in years when the match wasn't so good, if you got your full vaccination your rate disease was less," Weinberg added.

Doctors recommend kids from six months to 18 years of age get immunized. Weinberg says many parents are ignoring the recommendations which can lead to a long winter.

"It's like running a day care that's out of control," said Sertl.

The flu shot may not be 100 percent effective but for Sertl and his family it's close.

"We think it helps through the cold and flu season," Sertl added.