High-risk patients with underlying conditions that increase the risk of severe illness and death after influenza infection are among the first of all groups that are targeted to receive flu vaccinations. However, there have been few studies examining the efficacy of vaccines in this risk group.
A recent, detailed study provides solid evidence against the effectiveness of vaccinating high risk patients for H1N1 influenza. The study found that, although hundreds of thousands were vaccinated, hospital admissions due to H1N1 influenza virus did not diminish.
According to the study:
“... [T]his vaccine ... only offered non-significant protection against influenza related hospital admissions confirmed as H1N1 infection. This finding is of public health relevance because the population of chronically ill people is a major target group for pandemic vaccinations”.