Influenza vaccination in a previous flu season did not dampen the efficacy of subsequent vaccination among children, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers conducted the multiseason study in outpatient clinics at four U.S. sites among children between the ages of two and 17 years. The children suffered from a medically attended febrile acute respiratory illness and were recruited during the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 flu seasons. The researchers included 3,369 children in the analysis, of which 23 percent had a positive test result for the flu and 50 percent were vaccinated in the enrollment season.
Among the live attenuated influenza vaccine recipients, vaccine effectiveness was higher among children vaccinated in both the enrollment season and one prior season as compared to children without one prior season vaccination.
The study also shows that flu vaccine effectiveness varied by influenza type and subtype as well as vaccine type.
"These findings support current recommendations for annual influenza vaccination of children," study authors concluded.
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