A META-ANALYSIS ON THE VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS OF INFLUENZA

Abstract

Influenza is a respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus, which is highly contagious in humans. Influenza vaccination remains the most effective method of preventing and reducing the burden of influenza in society. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends annual flu vaccination for all individuals, especially those at high risk of disease. Within the scope of this study, PubMed and Web of Science, electronic bibliographic databases as well as other gray literature sources are systematically searched for studies published between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2022 on the effectiveness of vaccines. After removing irrelevant and duplicate studies and then a quick summary and title scanning, only 152 studies were found eligible in these databases. For influenza A(H1N1), an Odds Ratio of 0.397, within a confidence interval of 0.362 to 0.435, indicates statistically significant results. Shifting focus to Influenza B, the mean Odds Ratio aligns with the A(H1N1) findings at 0.485, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.045 to 0.528. The meta-analysis of A(H3N2) vaccines presents a mean Odds Ratio of 0.796 confidence interval of 0.748 to 0.848, with statistical significance at a 95% confidence level. The findings of this study are highly congruent with the results of meta-analyses for multi-countries in the literature. Vaccination remains an important strategy to alleviate the severity of influenza and reduce mortality rates. On the other hand, it should be noted that efforts should be made to eliminate vaccine hesitancy and ensure widespread distribution of the vaccine.