Older individuals who receive the MF59TM-adjuvanted vaccine (Fluad®) are significantly less likely to require hospitalization during peak virus circulation, Spanish investigators reported in Vaccine 25 (2007)7313-7321.
Vaccination with the MF59™-adjuvanted vaccine has been shown to produce an enhanced immune response in the elderly and in subjects with underlying chronic disease compared with a non-adjuvanted vaccine.
Joan Puig-Barbera, PhD, MPH, MD, with the Center for Public Health of Castellon, and colleagues elsewhere analyzed data from three case-control studies performed during the 2004-2005 influenza season.
Subjects included 105,454 individuals greater than 64 years of age who received the MF59™-adjuvanted vaccine. Each case was paired with one or two controls matched for hospital, date of hospital admission, and gender.
Results demonstrated a significant decreased risk of emergency admission for acute coronary syndrome (ACS), cerebrovascular accident (CVA), and pneumonia in persons who received the vaccine compared with controls.
The data also provided evidence of the link between influenza infection and the acute activation of atherosclerotic lesions, which are a precursor to acute thrombotic vascular events. The synergism between influenza infection and increased susceptibility to pneumonia has been widely established.
Overall, vaccination with the MF59™-adjuvanted vaccine was associated with an 87% relative risk reduction in hospitalization for ACS, 93% for CVA, and 69% for pneumonia.
“Because elderly people frequently have a weakening immune system along with multiple serious co-morbidities, the provision of improved vaccine prophylaxis during a time of increased vulnerability can be a major factor in boosting their overall health outcomes,” principal investigator Dr. Puig-Barbera said.
Given that conventional risk factors fail to identify many patients at risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events and given that the elderly are at increased risk of pneumonia, the findings bolster recommendations for the generalized use of the MF59™-adjuvanted vaccine in the elderly even in the absence of additional risk factors, her team wrote in their article.
By Jill Stein
Jill Stein is a freelance medical writer based in Paris.
Jillstein03 at cs.com