Among persons 65 years of age or older, a high-dose, inactivated influenza vaccine proved to be more effective against influenza than a standard-dose vaccine, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers conducted a trial a high-dose flu vaccine — IIV3-HD — with a standard-dose vaccine — IIV3-SD. A total of 31,989 participants were enrolled from 126 research centers in the United States and Canada. Around 15,991 were randomly assigned to receive IIV3-HD and 15,998 to receive IIV3-SD.
According to the study:
• Approximately 1.4 percent of participants in the high-dose group had laboratory-confirmed influenza as compared to 1.9 percent of the standard-dose group.
• At least one serious adverse event during the safety surveillance period was reported by 8.3 percent of the participants in the high-dose group as compared with nine of the participants in the standard-dose group.
• The high-dose vaccine induced significantly higher antibody responses and provided better protection against laboratory-confirmed influenza illness than the standard-dose vaccine.
More articles on quality:
Patient harms up 70% in Massachusetts hospitals
Study: 9 factors associated with SSI after colon procedures
MRSA colonization not limited to nose: Study