Browsing by Author "Whitaker, Heather"
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- Interim 2018/19 influenza vaccine effectiveness: six European studies, October 2018 to January 2019Publication . Kissling, Esther; Rose, Angela; Emborg, Hanne-Dorthe; Gherasim, Alin; Pebody, Richard; Pozo, Francisco; Trebbien, Ramona; Mazagatos, Clara; Whitaker, Heather; Valenciano, Marta; European IVE groupSeasonal influenza vaccine is recommended in all European Union (EU) countries for older people and others at increased risk of severe influenza and its complications, including those with chronic diseases. In the United Kingdom (UK), incremental introduction of a universal childhood influenza vaccination programme began in 2013/14. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for trivalent influenza vaccine strains for the 2018/19 northern hemisphere influenza season included an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus, an A/Singapore/INFIMH-16–0019/2016 (H3N2)-like virus and a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus from the B/Victoria lineage. The early 2018/19 influenza season in Europe was characterised by both influenza A virus subtypes circulating widely. There was co-circulation in some countries, with others reporting dominance of either A(H1N1)pdm09 or A(H3N2) viruses. The season started late in most countries compared with previous seasons, with few influenza B viruses detected in the WHO European Region. Since the 2008/09 season, the UK, Denmark, Spain, and several other EU countries conducting multicentre studies, have participated in I-MOVE (Influenza – Monitoring Vaccine Effectiveness in Europe), a network measuring influenza vaccine effectiveness each season. Interim results from six established influenza VE studies across Europe for the 2018/19 season indicate that VE against laboratory-confirmed influenza A ranged between 32% and 43% among all ages in primary care and hospital settings and was 59% in the target groups for vaccination.
- Interim 2019/20 influenza vaccine effectiveness: six European studies, September 2019 to January 2020Publication . Rose, Angela; Kissling, Esther; Emborg, Hanne-Dorthe; Larrauri, Amparo; McMenamin, Jim; Pozo, Francisco; Trebbien, Ramona; Mazagatos, Clara; Whitaker, Heather; Machado, Ausenda; Gómez, Verónica; Nunes, Baltazar; Kislaya, Irina; Pechirra, Pedro; Conde, Patrícia; Rodrigues, Ana Paula; Cristóvão, Paula; Costa, Inês; Guiomar, Raquel; European IVE GroupBackground: Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2) and B viruses were co-circulating in Europe between September 2019 and January 2020. Aim: To provide interim 2019/20 influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates from six European studies, covering 10 countries and both primary care and hospital settings. Methods: All studies used the test-negative design, although there were some differences in other study characteristics, e.g. patient selection, data sources, case definitions and included age groups. Overall and influenza (sub)type-specific VE was estimated for each study using logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders. Results: There were 31,537 patients recruited across the six studies, of which 5,300 (17%) were cases with 5,310 infections. Most of these (4,466; 84%) were influenza A. The VE point estimates for all ages were 29% to 61% against any influenza in the primary care setting and 35% to 60% in hospitalised older adults (aged 65 years and over). The VE point estimates against A(H1N1)pdm09 (all ages, both settings) was 48% to 75%, and against A(H3N2) ranged from −58% to 57% (primary care) and −16% to 60% (hospital). Against influenza B, VE for all ages was 62% to 83% (primary care only). Conclusions: Influenza vaccination is of continued benefit during the ongoing 2019/20 influenza season. Robust end-of-season VE estimates and genetic virus characterisation results may help understand the variability in influenza (sub) type-specific results across studies.