Getting the flu vaccine every year doesn’t reduce its effectiveness — and might even boost its performance — suggests a study in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers examined the vaccination status of nearly 3400 children who presented with acute febrile respiratory illness during one of three successive flu seasons between 2013 and 2016.
In this multiseason, test-negative case-control study, live attenuated influenza vaccine effectiveness was higher in children vaccinated in both the enrollment and prior season compared with those vaccinated only in the enrollment season. Prior-season vaccination was not associated with either inactivated or live attenuated vaccine effectiveness against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, although there was evidence of residual protection with prior-season vaccination only against influenza B.
About one-fourth had flu confirmed on reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction testing; the rest were considered negative for flu.
The authors concluded that Prior-season vaccination history was not associated with reduced vaccine effectiveness in children, supporting current recommendations for annual influenza vaccination of children.
A commentator writes, “The results thus suggest additional support for the current Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation that children be vaccinated annually against influenza”.
Read the full article here.
