title: A pilot study of the effectiveness of a school-based influenza vaccination program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a school-based influenza immunization program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pupils and their families from 3 demographically similar elementary schools participated in this pilot, unblinded, controlled intervention study. Live attenuated influenza vaccine (FluMist) was made available to all eligible pupils in 1 target school during regular school hours. Two schools where vaccine was not offered served as control schools. All families from the 3 study schools were sent an anonymous questionnaire requesting 7-day recall data on fever or respiratory illness (FRI)-related medical visits, medications purchased, and days of school or paid work lost during the peak influenza week. Changes in weekly pupil absenteeism were also examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred eighty-five (40%) of the target school pupils received vaccine, of whom >50% were vaccinated < or =3 weeks before the influenza outbreak period. Questionnaires were returned by 43% to 51% of households. Significant (45-70%) relative reductions in FRI-related outcomes, including doctor visits by adults or children, prescription or other medicines purchased, and family schooldays or workdays missed, were observed for target school households, compared with control school households. The increases in absenteeism rates during the influenza outbreak period, compared with baseline rates earlier in the fall, were not significantly different between target and control schools. Within the target school, however, the increase in absenteeism rates was significantly smaller for the FluMist-vaccinated pupils, compared with the non-FluMist-vaccinated pupils.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This school-based influenza immunization program was associated with significant reductions in FRI-related outcomes in households of pupils attending an intervention school. These results might have underestimated the potential impact of FluMist, because the majority of children received intraepidemic vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. jking@peds.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Ginny E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.forename: Bernard X
authors.initials: BX
authors.lastname: Readmond
authors.forename: Laurence S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Magder
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stong
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoffmaster
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruff
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D002648:Child; D005192:Family Health; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012574:Schools
chemical_list: D007252:Influenza Vaccines