Influenza

Healio Pulmonology has compiled a list of articles highlighting news and research on smoking, e-cigarettes and more.

Despite a CDC recommendation that everyone aged 6 months or older receive a seasonal influenza vaccine, only 24.5% of childcare centers reported having a child influenza vaccine requirement, and even fewer centers required caregivers to be vaccinated, according to a study published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

Among patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis, high-dose trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines are safe and more immunogenic than the standard-dose quadrivalent version, according to findings published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

Study findings showed that last season’s influenza vaccine “offered no substantial protection” against H3N2 viruses that moved through the United States late in the season, highlighting the ongoing challenge of producing a vaccine that works against this influenza A subtype and leading two experts to wonder if an additional H3N2 strain should be added to the seasonal vaccine.

In light of National Influenza Vaccination Week, which is taking place through Saturday, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases is encouraging all people to receive their annual influenza vaccine, with particular emphasis on the vaccine’s ability to prevent complications in people with chronic health conditions.

A new survey found that about half of adults expect prescriptions for antibiotics when they visit the doctor — one of the top stories in infectious disease last week.

The proportion of outpatient visits attributed to influenza-like illness climbed above the national baseline for the first time this season, comprising 2.5% of visits during the week ending Nov. 16, according to CDC FluView data.

As the outbreak of electronic cigarette- or vaping-associated lung injuries, or EVALI, continues, CDC has updated its interim guidance to help clinicians diagnose and treat patients with the condition in light of the approaching 2019-2020 influenza season.

Neither seasonal severity nor vaccine effectiveness were associated with influenza vaccination rates over eight recent influenza seasons, although vaccination rates have decreased overall in recent years, according to study findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.

ATLANTA — An intervention bundle reminding patients with rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis of the benefits of influenza vaccination was associated with improved vaccine coverage, according to findings presented at ACR/ARP 2019.