Influenza in older adults: impact of vaccination of school children.
The extent to which immunizing school children reduce the burden of influenza in adults is controversial. We enrolled a systematic sample of adults > or = 50 years hospitalized with respiratory symptoms in two counties, one with and one without a school-based immunization program. We tested all subjects for influenza by polymerase chain reaction. Hospitalizations per 1000 adults aged > or = 50 years were 1.28 (95% CI 0.59, 2.04) in the intervention county and 1.53 (95% CI 0.71, 2.34) in the control county. These rates did not differ significantly except in the subgroup aged 50 -- 64 years where rates in the intervention county were significantly lower.
Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States. keipp.talbot@vanderbilt.edu
H Keipp
HK
Talbot
Katherine A
KA
Poehling
John V
JV
Williams
Yuwei
Y
Zhu
Qingxia
Q
Chen
Paul
P
McNabb
Kathryn M
KM
Edwards
Marie R
MR
Griffin
D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012572:School Health Services; D013714:Tennessee / Q000453:epidemiology
D007252:Influenza Vaccines