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A recently published study raised questions about the recommendation for older people to wait until October to get a flu shot.
Jill Ferdinands , PhD, Epidemiologist from the CDC's Division of Influenza and colleagues said delaying October 1 vaccination for adults 65 years and older would increase the number of influenza-badociated hospitalizations if a proportion of those who are usually vaccinate earlier did not do it.
"Recent studies on the effectiveness of influenza vaccine (VE) have shown a reduced EV with the time that has elapsed since vaccination, suggesting that vaccine protection decreases over time. an influenza season, "said Ferdinands. and colleagues wrote. "These results raise the question of the optimal timing of vaccination; Specifically, should vaccination be avoided in late summer or early fall instead of delaying vaccination to maintain increased protection during the latter part of the influenza season?
The results of the study published in March indicate that vaccination of the elderly from October to May could prevent more than 11,000 cases and hundreds of deaths each year, but the positive effects were observed only during the influenza seasons that reached their peak after the middle of winter. The benefits did not hold up during the first peak seasons, or if the late schedule meant that fewer patients were vaccinated.
For their study, Ferdinands and colleagues used empirical data and a simulated cohort of US patients aged 65 years and older to estimate potential changes in influenza-badociated hospitalizations if vaccination was delayed to the end of the study. October 1st, as well as if it moved considerably towards September and August.
The results of the study showed that, during a typical season, delaying vaccination until October increased the number of influenza-related hospitalizations if more than 14% of older people generally vaccinated in August and September had not received the vaccine, reported Ferdinands and colleagues. They found that on average, the switch to vaccination in August and September had also resulted in an increase in the number of influenza-related hospitalizations, "but this result was also sensitive to the timing of the season of the flu ".
"It is premature to recommend or not a change in vaccination policy until we better understand how the consequences of a change in vaccination schedule will vary depending on important factors such as the proportion of delayed vaccinated people who miss out on the vaccine. vaccination, the rate at which vaccine protection will decrease. and how this decrease varies by type of influenza, age group and other characteristics, "the authors concluded.
"The flu seasons are notoriously variable and it is impossible to predict when influenza activity will occur. In light of this uncertainty and other uncertainties, our results do not suggest any compelling arguments for a change in current US seasonal flu vaccine recommendations with respect to the immunization schedule, although It may be prudent to prevent a significant shift towards early use of the vaccine. "- by Caitlyn Stulpin
Disclosures: The authors do not report any relevant financial information.
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