Influenza Vaccine - Vaccination Recommendations

Vaccination Recommendations

Various public health organizations, including the World Health Organization, have recommended that yearly influenza vaccination be routinely offered to patients at risk of complications of influenza and those individuals who live with or care for high-risk individuals, including:

• the elderly (UK recommendation is those aged 65 or above)
• patients with chronic lung diseases (asthma, COPD, etc.)
• patients with chronic heart diseases (congenital heart disease, chronic heart failure, ischaemic heart disease)
• patients with chronic liver diseases (including cirrhosis)
• patients with chronic renal diseases (such as the nephrotic syndrome)
• patients who are immunosuppressed (those with HIV or who are receiving drugs to suppress the immune system such as chemotherapy and long-term steroids) and their household contacts
• people who live together in large numbers in an environment where influenza can spread rapidly, such as prisons, nursing homes, schools, and dormitories.
• people who plan to attend or participate in a high profile important event with large amounts of people from various places (such as the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, and the World's Fair).
• people who are in the armed forces.
• healthcare workers (both to prevent sickness and to prevent spread to patients)
• pregnant women. However, a 2009 review concluded that there was insufficient evidence to recommend routine use of trivalent influenza vaccine during the first trimester of pregnancy. Influenza vaccination during flu season is part of recommendations for influenza vaccination of pregnant women in the United States. No studies have been done to weigh the dangers of the flu shot during pregnancy, according to Glaxo Smith Kline. They actually enter you in a database and do studies on you and your baby years later so they can learn the effects of a vaccine during pregnancy.
• children from ages six months to two years

Both types of flu vaccines are contraindicated for those with severe allergies to egg proteins and people with a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Public Health Law Research, an independent organization, published in 2009 several evidence briefs summarizing the research assessing the effect of specific laws and policy on public health.

There is sufficient evidence supporting the effectiveness of requiring vaccinations as a condition for attending child care facilities and schools.

There is insufficient evidence to assess the effectiveness of requiring vaccinations as a condition for specified jobs as a means of reducing incidence of specific diseases among particularly vulnerable populations.

There is strong evidence supporting the effectiveness of standing orders which allow healthcare workers without prescription authority to administer vaccines under defined circumstances as a public health intervention aimed at increasing vaccination rates.