Influenza News

Children who have used certain complementary and alternative medicines domains had lower annual influenza vaccine rates, according to data published in Pediatrics.

Seventy-nine percent of health care personnel in the United States reported receiving an influenza vaccination during the 2015-2016 season, similar to the coverage reported for 2014-2015, according to the results of an opt-in internet survey conducted by the CDC.

WASHINGTON — William Schaffner, MD, an Infectious Disease News Editorial Board member and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, discusses the impact of influenza in the United States. Schaffner participated in a press event to encourage all individuals aged 6 months and older to get vaccinated against influenza annually. He was joined by CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, and other health experts. Schaffner says that instead of simply recommending influenza vaccine to their patients, clinicians should be “insisters” of vaccination.

WASHINGTON — Influenza kills thousands of people each year, yet vaccination rates remain mostly stagnant despite wide agreement that the influenza vaccine is the best way to prevent infection. So each year health experts bang the drum to get more Americans vaccinated, even though they know there is no simple solution to the problem.

Systemic responses triggered by burn injuries, such as respiratory infection and edema, may persist in some children for at least 10 years after the wound has healed, according to data published in Pediatrics.

Although morbidity rates for children hospitalized with influenza A and B infections were similar, those with influenza B had twice the risk for influenza-attributed death and should be targeted for vaccination, according to results of a Canadian study.

The AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases recommends all persons aged 6 months and older receive an annual seasonal influenza vaccination, including children, adolescents and health care personnel, according to a recent policy statement.

There was no difference in community protection against influenza when vaccinating children and adolescents with either intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine or inactivated influenza vaccine, researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The FDA recently approved the first generic version of Tamiflu for the treatment and prevention of influenza A and B in patients aged 2 weeks and older, according to an agency announcement.

Influenza vaccination during pregnancy protected infants against the illness for a limited duration of 8 weeks, a recent study reported.