Flu Vaccination Campaign Research Articles

Couverture vaccinale vis-à-vis de la grippe chez les enfants de la région parisienne atteints d'une affection de longue durée

In France, annual influenza vaccination is recommended and free of charge for children with chronic disease (chronic lung, heart or kidney disease, diabetes, haemoglobinopathy, immune deficiency). The national goal is to reach 75% influenza vaccination coverage by 2008, but data on coverage in high risk children are limited. Objectives To estimate the influenza vaccination coverage in children with an underlying chronic health condition in the Paris region, during in- or out-patient visit at hospital. Methods A multicentre cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out over 2 months before the 2004-2005 flu vaccination campaign in 7 French paediatric hospitals (Paris region). Inclusion criteria for this survey were: children aged 6 months to 18 years, with an underlying chronic disease requiring annual influenza vaccination, with a vaccination card available, so as to check their vaccination status. Reasons for non vaccination were recorded. Results Data from 239 children were analysed. 56% of patients were males (mean age: 8.1 years). Two patients had 2 separate underlying chronic disorders; 69% had a haemoglobinopathy, 16.3% had a chronic respiratory disease, and 7.5% had diabetes. The influenza vaccination rate for 2003-2004 was 43.7% (haemoglobinopathy: 55.5%; chronic respiratory diseases: 12.8%). This rate increased from 20.4% to 43.7% between 1999 and 2003. Less than 16% of parents remembered having received a voucher for free vaccination from the National Health Insurance Agency. Conclusion Efforts are still needed to achieve the 2008 objectives of 75% coverage.

Flu vaccination in nursing homes: a survey of nursing-home managers

This article describes the findings of a survey of nursing-home managers in the Sefton area of Merseyside about flu vaccination in their nursing homes during the 2002/2003 flu vaccination campaign. This followed concerns expressed that significant numbers of nursing-home residents may not have been offered the vaccine during the annual campaign. A survey of all nursing homes in Sefton carried out in April 2003. Forty-three nursing homes participated in the study. Survey results showed considerable variation in practice with regard to the organization of flu vaccination and consequently considerable variation in the outcomes achieved with regard to the number of residents vaccinated. Residents are more likely to be offered vaccination in some homes than others. The size of the home and the number of qualified staff may be influential. Some homes report uncertainty related to the issues of consent and anaphylaxis and problems obtaining vaccine prescriptions. However, attitudes of nursing-home managers may also be important.

At-risk groups 'may miss out' on flu vaccinations.

The government's annual flu vaccination campaign is underway again, with an uptake target of 70 per cent among those aged 65 and over.

Cardiovascular News

Cardiovascular News

Plagues and Politics: The Story of the United States Public Health Service

Newspapers, television, and other media report disease outbreaks and therapeutic advances in medicine promptly and dramatically but pay little attention to routine public health activities that prevent disease and epidemics. In<i>Plagues and Politics</i>, Dr Fitzhugh Mullan, a US Public Health Service commissioned officer whose grandfather was also in the Service, contributes to correcting this imbalance with a history of the Service since its Revolutionary War beginnings as a source of medical care for merchant mariners. The book was prepared at the invitation of former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who has written a personal and thoughtful foreword. "History should be a good story" begins Mullan, and he makes it one. His task is formidable, for he not only traces the broad lines of Public Health Service history but also follows some specific issues such as the story of fluoridation of public water supplies and the swine flu vaccination campaign.

The Swine Flu Vaccination Campaign of 1976: Politics, Science, and the Public

The Swine Flu Vaccination Campaign of 1976: Politics, Science, and the Public

Swine Flu Vaccination Campaign: The Scientific Controversy Mounts

Swine Flu Vaccination Campaign: The Scientific Controversy Mounts