Flu vaccine protects children from infection and hospitalization due to illness

A study published in the journal Eurosurveillance found that Spanish flu vaccination campaign for children from 6 to 59 months In the 2023/24 season this was effective for prevent acute respiratory infections (ARI) and hospitalization after vaccination was recommended for this age group at the national level for the first time.

In context Children’s Health Day 2024which will be celebrated on October 7, the study highlights that ongoing efforts to increase vaccination coverage among children for future seasons.

In this sense, influenza A dominated the 2023/2024 season. Influenza B is rarely detected. The childhood influenza vaccination campaign began in the fall of 2023, with national vaccination coverage of 31.6 percent.

The negative case-control study analyzed surveillance data from 12 autonomous communities and 27 hospitals and included pediatric patients aged 6 to 59 months who were tested for influenza.

The study, coordinated by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), included 1364 patients who applied to primary health care with acute respiratory infections.244 of whom tested positive for influenza, and 302 patients were hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), 48 of whom tested positive for influenza.

Next information about the patient’s influenza vaccination from the vaccination records of each Autonomous Community. Vaccine effectiveness was determined by comparing the vaccination rate of those who tested positive for influenza with the rate of those who did not test positive. Vaccination rates are highest among those who test negative (i.e., controls) that indicate effectiveness.

Vaccine efficacy was then adjusted for potential confounders such as sex, age in months, week of epidemic, presence of chronic diseases, and region or hospital for ARI or SARI models.

Efficiency more than 70%

The study assessed Flu vaccine is 70 percent effective against any type of influenza in primary care patients with ARI and 77 percent against influenza in hospitalized patients with SARI.

IN Primary care: Flu vaccine found to be 77 percent effective (95% CI: 56 to 88%) versus A(H1N1)pdm09.

When subtyping influenza A viruses, the subtype was A(H1N1)pdm09. most common influenza viruswith 61.2 and 43.8 percent in primary health care settings and hospitals, respectively, followed by A(H3N2) with 19 and 18.8 percent, respectively, and unsubtyped influenza A viruses with 18.6 and 35.4 percent, respectively . Influenza B virus circulation was low.

Public health implications

It is assumed that 109 million cases of influenza virus have been reported in children aged 0 to 59 months worldwide, and that infections can lead to serious illness and consequences. In Spain, children under 5 years of age have the second highest rate of hospitalization due to influenza, second only to the over 65 age group.

The results of this study are consistent with previous studies documenting the effectiveness of influenza vaccines in protecting children’s health.