Infuenza Specialist Group

Study shows school-based influenza immunisations are cost effective

January 2008

School-based vaccination could be a cost-effective option for preventing influenza in school-age children and their families, according to a recent multi-state trial in the USA. The trial, which was conducted in the autumn of 2004, grouped 28 elementary schools from four states into 11 demographically similar clusters, each of which included one intervention school that offered the vaccine plus one school that served as a control. Phone surveys during the peak week of the influenza season revealed that 17% of households of students in the intervention schools reported a child with influenza like illness, compared with 26% of households in the control schools. In the same week, 8% of households in the intervention group reported an adult with influenza-like illnesses compared with 13% in control-group households. The researchers believe the results support that the school vaccination program’s effectiveness extends to the household, and second, that a high-efficiency immunization program that requires minimal time from parents provides economic benefit. For more information on the study, please go to: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.27.2.w96

Content Updated ( Friday, 22 February 2008 )