Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2015/09/flu-scan-sep-10-2015
Flu Scan for Sep 10, 2015
UK flu vaccine effectiveness; Flu vaccine uptake and flu in elderly
Filed Under:
Influenza Vaccines
[h=3]Full-season UK study of 2014-15 flu vaccine finds 34% effectiveness[/h] An end-of-season analysis on how seasonal flu vaccines performed in the United Kingdom has found low effectiveness, not much different than the midseason estimate, researchers reported today in Eurosurveillance.
Assessment took place at five primary care sentinel flu surveillance programs. The UK was among several Northern Hemisphere locations that saw an antigenic mismatch between the H3N2 vaccine strain and the circulating strain, which appeared to go hand in hand with poor vaccine performance. In today's report, the research team said the UK also saw circulation of drifted influenza B viruses.
The overall adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 34.3%, (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.8 to 47.5). The researchers said the finding was nonsignificantly higher than the midseason overall VE of 3.4% (95% CI, -44.8 to 35.5). Against the individual strains, VE was 29.3% (95% CI, 8.6 to 45.3) for H3N2 and 46.3% for influenza B (95% CI, 13.9 to 66.5).
Last season was the first for the country's universal pediatric flu vaccination program using the quadrivalent version of the live attenuated influenza vaccine. For children, VE was 35% (95% CI, -29.9 to 67.5) against H3N2 and 100% against flu B (95% CI, 17.0 to 100.0), but only 33 children tested positive for "B" strains.
Sep 10 Eurosurveill report
Feb 5 CIDRAP News story "UK, Canada add to bad news on this year's flu vaccine"
[h=3][/h] [h=3]Flu vaccine coverage in younger adults might aid older adults[/h] Increased flu vaccination coverage in working-age adults was associated with lower influenza rates in seniors, according to a large nationwide study yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic and Harvard University analyzed county-wide data for 520,229 adults 18 to 64 in the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System Survey and flu-related illnesses in 3,317,709 Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older from 2002 through 2010.
Adjusted odds ratios for influenza in the elderly varied as follows by county-wide vaccine coverage in younger adults: 1.0 (≤15% vaccinated), 0.91 (16%-20% vaccinated, 0.87 (21%-25% vaccinated), 0.80 (26%-30% vaccinated), and 0.79 (≥31% vaccinated). The trend was statistically significant.
Sep 9 Clin Infect Dis abstract
Flu Scan for Sep 10, 2015
UK flu vaccine effectiveness; Flu vaccine uptake and flu in elderly
Filed Under:
Influenza Vaccines
[h=3]Full-season UK study of 2014-15 flu vaccine finds 34% effectiveness[/h] An end-of-season analysis on how seasonal flu vaccines performed in the United Kingdom has found low effectiveness, not much different than the midseason estimate, researchers reported today in Eurosurveillance.
Assessment took place at five primary care sentinel flu surveillance programs. The UK was among several Northern Hemisphere locations that saw an antigenic mismatch between the H3N2 vaccine strain and the circulating strain, which appeared to go hand in hand with poor vaccine performance. In today's report, the research team said the UK also saw circulation of drifted influenza B viruses.
The overall adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 34.3%, (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.8 to 47.5). The researchers said the finding was nonsignificantly higher than the midseason overall VE of 3.4% (95% CI, -44.8 to 35.5). Against the individual strains, VE was 29.3% (95% CI, 8.6 to 45.3) for H3N2 and 46.3% for influenza B (95% CI, 13.9 to 66.5).
Last season was the first for the country's universal pediatric flu vaccination program using the quadrivalent version of the live attenuated influenza vaccine. For children, VE was 35% (95% CI, -29.9 to 67.5) against H3N2 and 100% against flu B (95% CI, 17.0 to 100.0), but only 33 children tested positive for "B" strains.
Sep 10 Eurosurveill report
Feb 5 CIDRAP News story "UK, Canada add to bad news on this year's flu vaccine"
[h=3][/h] [h=3]Flu vaccine coverage in younger adults might aid older adults[/h] Increased flu vaccination coverage in working-age adults was associated with lower influenza rates in seniors, according to a large nationwide study yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic and Harvard University analyzed county-wide data for 520,229 adults 18 to 64 in the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System Survey and flu-related illnesses in 3,317,709 Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older from 2002 through 2010.
Adjusted odds ratios for influenza in the elderly varied as follows by county-wide vaccine coverage in younger adults: 1.0 (≤15% vaccinated), 0.91 (16%-20% vaccinated, 0.87 (21%-25% vaccinated), 0.80 (26%-30% vaccinated), and 0.79 (≥31% vaccinated). The trend was statistically significant.
Sep 9 Clin Infect Dis abstract