High-Dose Flu Vaccines More Effective Than Standard Vaccines in Older Adults

A study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found high-dose vaccines are more effective in preventing influenza- or pneumonia-associated hospitalizations, cardiorespiratory hospitalizations, and all-cause hospitalizations among adults 65 and older than standard-dose vaccines, reports Healio . "This long-term analysis across five flu seasons — 2010-2011 through 2014-2015 — provides a succinct appraisal of the high-dose vaccine's effectiveness over the standard-dose vaccine," said Yinong Young-Xu at the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt. His team evaluated the relative vaccine effectiveness of the high-dose influenza vaccine compared with the standard dose in preventing hospitalizations among Veterans Health Administration (VHA)-enrolled veterans 65 and up. Analysis of VHA and Medicare administration files for the five flu seasons included 3,638,924 person-flu seasons of observation. Of these, 4 percent were among individuals who received the high-dose vaccine and 96 percent were among those who received the standard-dose vaccine. The high-dose vaccine had an estimated 10 percent instrumental variable-adjusted relative vaccine effectiveness — or additional reduction — in all-cause hospitalization compared with the standard dose. The high-dose vaccine also demonstrated 18 percent and 14 percent relative vaccine effectiveness against cardiorespiratory-associated hospitalization and influenza/pneumonia-associated hospitalization, respectively.