Immunisation Horizon Scanning Bulletin Volume 2 Issue 11

Children going back to school ‘could trigger major flu epidemic’

Source: The Telegraph

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Date of publication: December 2010

Publication Type: News-Item

In a nutshell: The decision not to vaccinate the under-fives against flu this winter risks starting the first epidemic for a decade when schools return next week. Doctors believe that infection levels are likely to rise dramatically over the next few weeks. Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, was yesterday accused of “serious misjudgment” for witholding the seasonal flu vaccine from children aged six months to their fifth birthday.

Length of publication: 1 page news-item

Establishing an opportunistic catch up immunisation service for children attending an acute trust in London

Source: Archives of Diseases in Childhood, 2010 Dec 16. [Epub ahead of print]

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Date of publication: December 2010

Publication Type: Letter

In a nutshell: Vaccination rates in London are significantly lower than in the rest of the UK, especially for MMR vaccine. MMR uptake in London ranges from 50 to 75% compared with 80–90% nationally. 1 Our aim was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of an opportunistic immunisation service for children attending the paediatric outpatient department (OPD) at the Royal Free Acute NHS Trust (RFH). We are not aware of any UK acute paediatric department currently routinely offering such a service…  Conclusions:… We have demonstrated the value of offering immunisations to children attending OPD in an acute trust to promote immunisation uptake.

Length of publication: 2 pages

Practice-level flu data used to counter poor jab uptake

Source: GP Online

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Date of publication: December 2010

Publication Type: News-Item

In a nutshell: Data on flu jab uptake is being fed back to practices to help improve vaccination levels before the height of the flu season, the DoH has revealed.

Length of publication: 1 page news-item

MMR vaccine uptake falls short of UK target

Source: Nursing Times

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Date of publication: December 2010

Publication Type: News-Item

In a nutshell: Efforts to vaccinate children in England with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab are improving but still fall short of a target set by the World Health Organisation (WHO), according to a report.

Length of publication: 1 page news-item

RSV jab for infants with heart or lung disease

Source: Department of Health

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Date of publication: December 2010

Publication Type: Document

In a nutshell: Infants born with types of heart or lung disease should be immunised against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a government advisory committee has recommended.

Length of publication: 9 pages

Effectiveness of inactivated influenza vaccine in children aged 9 months to 3 years: an observational cohort study

Source: The Lancet: Infectious Diseases, 2010 Nov 22. [Epub ahead of print]

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Date of publication: November 2010

Publication Type: Journal Article

In a nutshell: Background: Few prospectively collected data are available to support the effectiveness of inactivated influenza vaccines in children younger than 2 years. We aimed to establish the effectiveness of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine against laboratory-confirmed influenza A and B infections in a cohort of children younger than 3 years. Findings: We enrolled 631 children into our study with a mean age of 2·13 years (range 9—40 months). Seven (5%) of 154 fully vaccinated children and 61 (13%) of 456 unvaccinated children contracted influenza during the study (effectiveness 66%, 95% CI 29—84; p=0·003). In the subgroup of children younger than 2 years, four (4%) of 96 fully vaccinated children and 21 (12%) of 172 unvaccinated children contracted influenza (66%, 9—88, p=0·03). We were unable to record any adverse events associated with the vaccination of the children in our study. Interpretation: Trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine was effective in preventing influenza in young children, including those younger than 2 years. Our findings suggest that influenza vaccine recommendations should be reassessed in most countries.

Length of publication: Unknown

Immunisation of adolescents in the UK

Source: Archives of Diseases in Childhood, 2010 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print]

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Date of publication: November 2010

Publication Type: Review

In a nutshell: The recent introduction of routine immunisation against human papillomavirus (HPV) in adolescent girls in the UK has focused attention on the potential for immunisation in this age group. In this review the authors suggest that this is an opportunity that is not being fully utilised. In particular, there are arguments for adolescent vaccines to boost immunity against Bordetella pertussis and Neisseria meningitidis infections, and the successful implementation of the HPV vaccine could be taken as a model to prevent another sexually transmitted carcinogenic infection, hepatitis B virus.

Length of publication: Unknown

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