Policies and outcomes for control of influenza among the elderly in the USA.
For about 20 years official recommendations have been made to provide influenza vaccine to elderly persons in the USA because they are high risk of complications if infected during epidemics. Residents of homes for the aged (Nursing Homes) are of particular concern and we have studied this subgroup in greater detail than before. A prospectively organized surveillance programme of about 7000 residents of more than 65 homes in several states indicated that vaccination rates varied from about 9 to 98%, with the average about 60%. Biases in vaccinating residents according to age and medical condition were not detected. Vaccine use was greatest when the policy of the homes was to administer vaccine without requesting consent of relatives. In separate studies of influenza A(H3N2) outbreaks in homes for the elderly during 1982/83, influenza vaccine was found to reduce influenza-associated mortality by about 75% although febrile respiratory illness rates were reduced less than 50%. The frequency of outbreaks was lowest in homes having fewest residents, and highest vaccination rates. Professional Educational Programmes are no being developed to assist homes for the elderly to improve the organization of their influenza vaccination activities in an attempt to further reduce influenza mortality.
D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014481:United States
D007252:Influenza Vaccines