Recent CDC report estimates the effectiviness of influenza vaccine by 62%. And we are douting this percent in our area, as most of our patients who got the vaccine reported to have several influenza episodes after vaccination. I think this vaccine should be given to certain group of high risk patients only.
Immunisation of high risk patients should be a matter of prioritisation if low ammount of vaccine is available.
Immunisation against seasonal influenza can be a very cost-efficient approach if a high percent of population is vaccinated. Herd-immunity can be achieved if we are targeting children [main reservoir of virus!], health-care workers, teachers and education-personell, public-relations personell, etc. If virus will not easily find a vulnerable target [that will act as a carrier for virus] we will protect also high-risk patients.
Effectiveness of influenza vaccine can be "damaged" by a miss-match between circulating virus and vaccinal strains. So I would be cautious to validate an anti-immunisation campaign solely on efficacy data!
Routine vaccination is not of inluenza can not be recomended cost is a major factor, it is only recomended with high risk children
Thank you Fontal
Actually this is the conclusion of the cochrane study you refere to: Influenza vaccines have a modest effect in reducing influenza symptoms and working days lost. There is no evidence that they affect complications, such as pneumonia, or transmission.
Our observation is that: Vaccinated children and adult got more frequant infections than non-vaccinated persone. I wonder if the there is mismatch between the included strains in the vaccine and the field strain.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001269.pub4/abstract
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