Vaccination effective at preventing hospitalisation for influenza-associated pneumonia

Influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, and effective vaccines have been shown to reduce the chance of hospitalisation for severe cases of flu. But it is unclear whether the vaccines lower the risk of hospitalisations for community-acquired, influenza-associated pneumonia.

This association was evaluated in a study by researchers at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, using data from the prospective Etiology of Pneumonia in the Community study. Of 2,767 patients hospitalised with pneumonia, 162 (5.9%) had laboratory-confirmed influenza. A total of 28 of the 162 people (17%) with influenza-pneumonia had been vaccinated. In contrast, 766 of 2,605 controls (29%) with influenza-negative pneumonia had been vaccinated.

The estimated effectiveness of the influenza vaccine for preventing hospitalisations for community-acquired, influenza-associated pneumonia was around 57%, conclude the researchers in JAMA (online, 5 October 2015)^[1]
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