Influenza News

When vaccine supplies are limited during influenza pandemics, prioritizing high-risk groups, followed by children and the elderly for vaccination improved epidemiologic and economic outcomes for vaccine interventions, according to a study published in PLOS Computational Biology.

Maternal influenza vaccinations administered throughout the year significantly reduced influenza infections among infants and influenza-like illnesses in their mothers, in addition to reducing rates of low birth-weight, according to research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

NEW ORLEANS — In this video, Kathleen M. Neuzil, MD, MPH, Infectious Disease News Editorial Board member and director of the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, talks about the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine to prevent influenza-related death in children.

Only 7% of child care directors within the United States reported that their centers had taken adequate steps to prevent the spread of influenza during an outbreak, despite prior experience with the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to research published in Pediatrics.

Children whose parents had received an influenza vaccine are 2.77 times more likely to be immunized against seasonal influenza and were more likely to be compliant with other recommended immunizations, including HPV, according to recent study findings.

Live-attenuated influenza vaccines increase durable, cross-reactive T-cell responses among children, with potential to provide cross-protective immunity among drifted and hereto-variant influenza strains, according to data published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

ATLANTA — The highest mortality rate regarding influenza-related pediatric death occurs most frequently in children younger than 2 years of age, with minimal vaccination coverage observed within this demographic, according to research published at the 2017 Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference.

World Immunization Week is acknowledged annually during the last week of April to raise awareness of the importance of child and adult immunizations, which prevent an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths each year from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and measles, according to WHO. However, an additional 1.5 million deaths could be averted with improvements in global vaccination coverage, which has remained stable over the past few years.

Influenza vaccination reduces the risk of lab-confirmed influenza-associated pediatric death by 65% among healthy children and 51% among children with high-risk medical conditions; however, among recorded pediatric deaths from influenza, only one in four children had been vaccinated.

Patients with asthma are at increased risk for more severe influenza disease, according to research published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.