Influenza Vaccine

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between health literacy, demographics, and access to health care.DESIGN: Cross-sectional study, Health, Aging and Body Composition data (1999/2000).SETTING: Memphis, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand five hundred twelve black and white community-dwelling older people who were well functioning at baseline (without functional difficulties or dementia).MEASUREMENTS: Participants' health literacy was assessed using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine. Scores were categorized into 0 to sixth-, seventh- to eighth-, and ninth-grade and higher reading levels (limited health literacy defined as <9th grade). Participants' demographics, socioeconomic status, comorbidities, and three indicators of healthcare access (whether they had a doctor/regular place of medical care, an influenza vaccination within the year, or insurance for medications) were also assessed.RESULTS: Participants' mean age was 75.6, 52% were female, 38% were black, and 24% had limited health literacy. After adjusting for sociodemographics, associations remained between limited health literacy and being male, being black, and having low income and education, diabetes mellitus, depressive symptoms, and fair/poor self-rated health (P<.02). After adjusting for sociodemographics, health status, and comorbidities, older people with a sixth-grade reading level or lower were twice as likely to have any of the three indicators of poor healthcare access (odds ratio=1.96, 95% confidence interval=1.34–2.88).CONCLUSION: Limited health literacy was prevalent and was associated with low socioeconomic status, comorbidities, and poor access to health care, suggesting that it may be an independent risk factor for health disparities in older people.

The word Influenza comes from mid–18th century Italian and literally means ‘influence’. Similar to how the coronavirus was once best known to cause the common cold, in 1918 Influenza was felt to be so benign a disease that it was not reportable in the United States. And it was not until 1933 that Influenza was “discovered”. So just what was causing the deaths in 1918? And why did the corona “virus” turn so deadly so quickly? Before we can be certain of anything, these questions need to be answered. But to this point, they have not been answered. In the meantime, during both events there was a deadly pandemic of tuberculosis going on, a pandemic which even in 2020 kills one person every 21 seconds for a total of at least 1.5 to 1.8 million dead in 2018 alone. Yet Robert Koch, TB’s discoverer, was repeatedly forced to call it a virus, to assuage other authorities of his time. And, as we shall soon see, the concept that only a new and virulent strain of a virus can be so infectious and kill so quickly is not only fallacious, but dangerous -and completely at odds with what used to be called the acute form of “galloping consumption” [tuberculosis] which did and still can kill in a matter of hours, days or weeks.
“Viral” influenza was informally first mentioned as being behind America’s 1918 influenza pandemic not by a direct study of the disease in humans, but rather from studies on animal diseases. In 1918, J.S. Koen, a veterinarian, observed a disease killing thousands of pigs which he believed to be the same disease as the now infamous influenza Pandemic of 1918. He felt that it was a virus. It was solely his belief. Yet new evidence and older historical findings bring up the possibility that influenza doesn’t originate from a virus –despite the indefatigable efforts, up to the present, of flu enthusiasts to viralize the 1918-19 pandemic. (Burnet F, Clark E. 1942) (Morens DM, Taubenberger JK. 2009). As we shall see, such efforts on the part of viral devotees are nothing new, and began in force with scant evidence in Great Britain during the 1st World War, also known as the Great War.

Several Medline studies have shown that inoculating with influenza vaccine is also protective against tuberculosis. New evidence and older historical findings which explain this phenomenon bring up the possibility that influenza doesn't originate from a virus.

La vaccination est le moyen le plus efficace pour prévenir et contenir la propagation du virus influenza (OMS, 2014). Le personnel infirmier est l’un des principaux groupes-cibles des recommandations de vaccination (CDC, 2006). Malgré cela, les taux de vaccination contre la grippe de ce groupe professionnel restent habituellement bas. La plupart des recherches investiguant la question de l’aversion à la vaccination emploient les théories de perception du risque et du comportement de santé. La pandémie de grippe A/H1N1 de 2009 est l’une des nombreuses maladies infectieuses récentes auxquelles le public a été confronté. Celles-ci ont été souvent moins graves que prévu et ont suscité un sentiment de fatigue du risque (Liao & Fielding, 2014). Cette thèse investigue la présence et la nature des attitudes sceptiques envers les maladies infectieuses émergentes (MIE) parmi les infirmiers/ères, et la mesure dans laquelle leur décision de vaccination sont aussi dues à l’adoption de telles attitudes. Le scepticisme envers les MIE se manifeste par des doutes quant au réel danger que représentent les maladies émergentes, ainsi que par de la méfiance dans les institutions censées lutter contre elles. L’étude 1 explore la façon dont les infirmiers/ères ont vécu la campagne de vaccination lors de la pandémie de grippe de 2009 et demande si les souvenirs de cet épisode révèlent des attitudes sceptiques envers les MIE. Cinquante-huit infirmiers/ères diplômé(e)s de quatre hôpitaux de Suisse romande ont été interviewé(e)s sur leur lieu de travail entre 2011 et 2012. Dans les mêmes hôpitaux, onze organisateurs des campagnes de vaccination ont également été interviewés afin d’observer des différences de perception de l’épisode pandémique et de la vaccination. Les résultats confirment la présence d’attitudes sceptiques parmi les infirmiers/ères, lesquelles se détachent des attitudes rationalistes des organisateurs des campagnes de vaccination. Au travers d’une étude transversale par questionnaire effectuée en 2013 auprès de 334 infirmiers/ères, employant une nouvelle échelle mesurant le scepticisme envers les MIE, l’étude 2 demande si le scepticisme envers les MIE constitue un prédicteur supplémentaire des intentions de vaccination du personnel infirmier contre la grippe saisonnière et pandémique, au-delà d’autres déterminants de vaccination connus, tels que les habitudes de vaccination, la perception du risque et la perception de la vaccination contre la grippe en tant que devoir professionnel. L’étude 2 se demande en outre si l’effet d’expériences négatives avec des pandémies passées sur les intentions de vaccination contre une future grippe pandémique transite par l’effet indirect du scepticisme envers les MIE. Les résultats montrent que le scepticisme affecte les intentions de vaccination du personnel infirmier à la fois contre la grippe saisonnière et contre une future grippe pandémique. Les expériences négatives avec des pandémies passées ont vraisemblablement forgé des attitudes sceptiques envers les MIE, qui, à leur tour, sont susceptibles de réduire les intentions de vaccination des infirmiers/ères contre une nouvelle grippe pandémique. Cette thèse présente et discute différentes contributions théoriques, de même que des pistes pour de futures recherches. Enfin, ce travail propose quelques implications pratiques.

Vaccination is the most efficient way to prevent and contain the propagation of influenza viruses (OMS, 2014). Nurses are one of the main target groups for vaccination recommendations (CDC, 2006). However, nurses’ vaccination rates against influenza remain recurrently low. Much research has investigated nurses’ vaccination reluctance using theories of risk perception and health behavior. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic is one of the several recent recurrent emerging diseases people had to be confronted with, which has been less severe than predicted, and perhaps has led to risk fatigue (Liao & Fielding, 2014). This thesis assessed the presence and the nature of skeptical attitudes towards emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) among nurses, and whether nurses’ vaccination decisions are also due to the adoption of such attitudes. Skepticism towards EIDs is manifested by doubts about the real threat of emerging diseases and distrust in institutions engaged in the fight against them. Study 1 explored how nurses experienced the 2009 pandemic vaccination campaign and whether remembering the pandemic episode may reveal skeptical attitudes towards EIDs. Fifty-eight registered nurses of four hospitals of the French-speaking part of Switzerland were interviewed at their workplaces between 2011 and 2012. Eleven professionals in charge of vaccination campaigns from the same hospitals were also interviewed to observe potential differences in perceiving the pandemic episode and influenza vaccination. Results confirmed the presence of skeptical attitudes among nurses, which were different from the rationalist attitudes of persons in charge of vaccination campaigns. Through a cross-sectional questionnaire study among 334 Swiss nurses in 2013 using a new developed scale measuring skepticism towards EIDs, Study 2 assessed whether skepticism towards EIDs constitutes an additional predictor of nurses’ vaccination intentions against seasonal and pandemic influenza, after having controlled for other known determinants of influenza vaccination, such as vaccination habits, feeling at risk to catch the disease, and perceiving vaccination as a professional duty. Study 2 also investigated whether effect of negative past experiences with pandemics on vaccination intentions for a future pandemic transits trough the indirect effect of skepticism towards EIDs. Results showed that skepticism affected nurses’ vaccination intentions for both seasonal and pandemic influenza. Negative experiences with past pandemics may have forged skeptical attitudes towards EIDs, which in turn may reduce nurses’ vaccination intentions for a future pandemic influenza. Theoretical contributions as well as future research directions are discussed. Finally, practical implications are proposed.

As the greatest influenza pandemic of all time continued to rage, other doctors were speaking out. In 1920, with the killing fields of 1918–19 laid out before him, British physician Marcus Paterson took yet another jab at the "flu" epidemic. He wrote: "During the time I was Resident Medical Officer at Brompton, it was usual to classify a rise of temperature in an ordinary case of 'chronic' pulmonary tuberculosis as influenza, even when there was no epidemic."

Objective: To study immunological and virological parameters in HIV-1-seropositive adults treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for at least 7 months after immunisation with MF59-adjuvanted (FLUAD, Chiron, Siena, Italy) or with non-adjuvanted (AGRIPPAL, Chiron) trivalent influenza vaccine. Design: Blood samples, collected before and after vaccination, were analysed for the presence of antibodies against the vaccine antigens, for number of CD4+ T lymphocytes and HIV-1 RNA levels. Results: Forty-four volunteers received FLUAD and 40 AGRIPPAL influenza vaccine. Thirty days after vaccination both adjuvanted and non-adjuvanted vaccines induced significant increases of anti-influenza virus antibodies. However, antibody titres found in volunteers receiving adjuvanted vaccine were in general significantly higher when compared with those found in the non-adjuvanted vaccine group. The requirements of the European Commission of influenza vaccine for a non-elderly adult population were always met by recipients of the adjuvanted vaccine, even in those with the lowest CD4+ cell counts (<200 cells/mmc). The subjects receiving the non-adjuvanted vaccine failed to met these requirements. The CD4+ T lymphocytes and plasma HIV-1 RNA levels remained stable in the long term, both in people receiving adjuvanted or non-adjuvanted vaccine. Conclusion: MF59-adjuvanted influenza induced a significant higher immune responses as compared with conventional vaccine in HIV-seropositive HAART-treated patients. Both vaccines were safe regarding HIV RNA viral replication and loss of CD4+ T lymphocytes.

We applied this technology to the development of a pandemic H5N1 vaccine candidate. The vaccine virus was constructed by reverse genetics in Vero cells, as a 5∶3 reassortant, encoding four proteins HA, NA, M1, and M2 of the A/Vietnam/1203/04 virus while the remaining ...

The aim of this study was to apply SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) to a domestic shortage of influenza vaccine, to identify lessons learned, and to generate effective solutions for future public health rationing emergencies.

The purpose of these studies was to examine the response of Thoroughbred foals and yearlings to different influenza vaccines and vaccination regimes. The horses&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; antibody levels against haemagglutinin, an established correlate of protection were measured by haemagglutination inhibition. The first study investigated the extent to which maternal antibodies interfered with the humoral response to a subunit vaccine. The findings suggest that repeat vaccination in the face of maternal antibodies may induce tolerance as defined by serological testing. The second study compared the immune response elicited by a subunit immune stimulating complex (ISCOM) vaccine, an inactivated whole virus vaccine and the same product containing equine herpesviruses and equine reoviruses in addition to equine influenza virus. The monovalent vaccine induced a significantly better response than the ISCOM or the multivalent vaccine. The final study demonstrated that the inclusion of an additional booster vaccination, between the second and third vaccination recommended by the vaccine manufacturers and required under the rules of racing in certain countries, is of benefit to young horses. Since these studies were performed, several of the vaccines have been updated with more recent virus strains in line with WHO/OIE recommendations. However, the general principles investigated in the studies remain relevant to these vaccines.

During the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic several pandemic H1N1 vaccines were licensed using fast track procedures, with relatively limited data on the safety in children and adolescents. Different extensive safety monitoring efforts were put in place to ensure timely detection of adverse events following immunization. These combined efforts have generated large amounts of data on the safety of the different pandemic H1N1 vaccines, also in children and adolescents. In this overview we shortly summarize the safety experience with seasonal influenza vaccines as a background and focus on the clinical and post marketing safety data of the pandemic H1N1 vaccines in children. We identified 25 different clinical studies including 10,505 children and adolescents, both healthy and with underlying medical conditions, between the ages of 6 months and 23 years. In addition, large monitoring efforts have resulted in large amounts of data, with almost 13,000 individual case reports in children ...

Over 1200 cases of 2009 pandemic influenza A H1N1 (pH1N1) have been identified in Kenya since the first case in June 2009. In April 2010 the Kenyan government launched a program to immunize high-risk groups and healthcare workers (HCWs) with pH1N1 vaccines donated by the World Health Organization. To characterize HCWs&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding pH1N1 vaccination, we conducted a quantitative and qualitative survey in 20 healthcare facilities across Kenya between January 11 and 26, 2010. Of 659 HCWs interviewed, 55% thought there was a vaccine against pH1N1, and 89% indicated that they would receive pH1N1 vaccine if it became available. In focus group discussions, many HCWs said that pH1N1 virus infection did not cause severe disease in Kenyans and questioned the need for vaccination. However, most were willing to accept vaccination if they had adequate information on safety and efficacy. In order for the influenza vaccination campaign to be successful, HCWs must understand that pH1N1 can cause severe disease in Kenyans, that pH1N1 vaccination can prevent HCWs from transmitting influenza to their patients, and that the vaccine has been widely used globally with few recognized adverse events.

Machine learning holds considerable promise for understanding complex biological processes such as vaccine responses. Capturing interindividual variability is essential to increase the statistical power necessary for building more accurate predictive models. However, available approaches have difficulty coping with incomplete datasets which is often the case when combining studies. Additionally, there are hundreds of algorithms available and no simple way to find the optimal one. In this study, we developed Sequential Iterative Modeling “OverNight” (SIMON), an automated machine learning system that compares results from 128 different algorithms and is particularly suitable for datasets containing many missing values. We applied SIMON to data from five clinical studies of seasonal influenza vaccination. The results reveal previously unrecognized CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets strongly associated with a robust Ab response to influenza Ags. These results demonstrate that SIMON can greatly speed up the choice of analysis modalities. Hence, it is a highly useful approach for data-driven hypothesis generation from disparate clinical datasets. Our strategy could be used to gain biological insight from ever-expanding heterogeneous datasets that are publicly available.