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H1N1 vaccination reduced influenza related hospital admissions in Scotland
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The pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza vaccination protected against pandemic influenza and reduced the number of hospital admissions related to influenza in Scotland, according to Scottish researchers.
“Clinicians and policymakers should be encouraged that the vaccine effectiveness estimates obtained in this study are at least comparable to those found for seasonal influenza,” researcher Colin Simpson, PhD, of the Allergy and Respiratory Research Group, Center for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, told Infectious Disease News. “In the event of a future pandemic, a pandemic influenza vaccine is most likely to be effective if targeted at people who are at known risk of serious influenza-like illnesses and who lack herd immunity.”
Colin Simpson
Simpson and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine the effectiveness of the Scottish pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza vaccination. They evaluated data on vaccination uptake from primary care records, as well as data on hospital admissions and mortality from the Scottish Morbidity Record and General Register Office for Scotland. They used data from a sample of the Scottish population to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine.
During the study period from Oct. 21, 2009, to Jan. 31, 2010, the vaccine was administered to 38,296 people of the 247,178 in the sample, leaving 85% of the sample unvaccinated. There were 6,131 emergency hospital admissions during 23,893,359 person-days of observation. Among those who received the vaccine, there were 32 emergency hospital admissions for influenza and pneumonia. Vaccinated patients had a higher rate of hospital admissions and were more likely to be admitted to the hospital for other causes than influenza.
There were 650 deaths during the study period: 579 in unvaccinated patients and 71 in vaccinated patients. There were no deaths resulting only from influenza. Vaccinated patients were less likely to die than unvaccinated patients. When analyzing swabs for influenza, two of the 289 patients who were vaccinated and swabbed tested positive for pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza vs. 335 of 1,068 patients who were unvaccinated. The vaccine effectiveness was 77%.
“The vaccination strategy adopted by the Scottish government, which targeted front-line workers and incentivized primary care physicians to target those with underlying medical conditions and younger people who lacked herd immunity, was found to reduce H1N1 influenza, influenza-related illnesses and death in our cohort of 250,000 Scottish people,” Simpson concluded.
References:
Simpson C. Lancet Infect Dis. 2012;doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(12)70133-0.
Disclosures:
Dr. Simpson reports no relevant financial disclosures. .