Flu vaccine may not reduce hospital admission in children
- Published: 08 October 2008 11:48
- Author: Tom Downey
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- Last Updated: 08 October 2008 16:43
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The flu inoculation may not reduce hospital admissions or physician visits in young children, as the vaccine may not match circulating strains of the virus, according to a study.
Researchers in New York studied 414 children under 5 who developed influenza during the winters of 2003-4 or 2004-5 and their vaccination status was compared with over 5000 children who did not catch the flu.
Significant flu vaccine effectiveness was not evident in either of the seasons studied – there was an estimated range of effectiveness from 7-52% in fully vaccinated 6-59 month olds.
The study noted that the strains of the virus used in vaccines were not suitable. For example, in 2003-4 the influenza A virus was responsible for 99% of circulating strains and only 11% of vaccines contained the correct virus.
Authors wrote: 'Further studies of influenza vaccine effectiveness are needed using a variety of study designs to assess the yearly impact of influenza vaccination programmes for children.
Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine (2008): 943-951
