A study published on Eurosurveillance has demonstrated that Spain's influenza vaccination campaign for children aged 6-59 months during the 2023/24 season was effective in preventing acute respiratory infections (ARI) and hospitalization, as vaccination was recommended for this age group at the national level for the first time. In the context of Child Health Day 2024, this research emphasizes that continued efforts should be made to increase vaccination coverage among children for future seasons. Context and methods Influenza A was dominant in the 2023/2024 season, with influenza B rarely being detected.
The influenza vaccination campaign for children started in the autumn of 2023, with a national vaccination coverage of 31.6%. The test-negative case–control study analyzed surveillance data from 12 of 19 regions in Spain and 27 hospitals, and included pediatric patients aged 6-59 months that had been tested for influenza.
The study comprised 1,364 patients presenting at primary care with acute respiratory infections, 244 of which tested positive for influenza (i.e. cases), and 302 patients hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), 48 of which tested positive for influenza (i.
e. cases). Influenza vaccination data for patients was then collected from regional vaccination records.
Vaccine effectiveness was determined by comparing the vaccination rate of those who tested positive for influenza to the rate of those who did not, with higher vaccination rates .