Infectious Disease

Study shows even poorly matched flu vaccines protect children from serious illnesses

January 13, 2022

1 minute read

Source/Disclosures

Disclosure:
Walensky does not report any relevant financial disclosures. The relevant financial information of all authors can be found in the study.

ADD TOPIC TO EMAIL ALERTS

Receive an email when new articles are published

Please enter your email address to receive an email when new articles are published . ” data-action=”subscribe”> Subscribe

We could not process your request. Please try again later. If this issue persists, please contact [email protected].

Back to Healio

A new study reiterates that influenza vaccination protects children from serious illnesses, even when vaccines are poorly matched to circulating viruses.

The study authors found that vaccination was 63% effective against critical childhood influenza during the 2019-2020 season overall. Vaccination reduced the risk of severe influenza in children by 78% against influenza A virus matched vaccine viruses, 47% against influenza A virus mismatch, and 75% against influenza B Victoria mismatch Viruses, they reported.

The study included 291 patients in 17 US hospitals – 159 children with severe influenza and 132 controls.

The researchers said this presents a “unique” opportunity to study the effect of influenza vaccines against antigenic drift viruses because the vaccines contained two poorly matched virus strains. Influenza B viruses became dominant early on and “caused the largest national childhood influenza epidemic since 1992,” they wrote.
CDC director Rochelle P Walensky, MD, MPHShe said the study was “good news”.

Rochelle Walensky

“This study shows that influenza can cause serious illness in children, but influenza vaccines can be life-saving,” Walensky said in a press release highlighting the study in Clinical Infectious Diseases. “It is particularly important that children receive a flu vaccine this season in addition to the recommended COVID-19 vaccines. Flu season has started and children have had no flu shots so now is the best time to get your child vaccinated if you haven’t already.”

Influenza season has begun in many parts of the U.S., and continued influenza activity is expected in the coming weeks, the CDC said. Most influenza diseases discovered to date have been caused by influenza A(H3N2) and have occurred in children and young adults. The circulating viruses are genetically closely related to the H3N2 vaccine virus, but share some differences that the CDC says may result in reduced protection from the vaccine against these viruses.

references:
CDC. Vaccination protects even when vaccine virus and circulating virus are different. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0113-flu-vaccine-children.html. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

ADD TOPIC TO EMAIL ALERTS

Receive an email when new articles are published

Please enter your email address to receive an email when new articles are published . ” data-action=”subscribe”> Subscribe

We could not process your request. Please try again later. If this issue persists, please contact [email protected].

Back to Healio

Related Articles