A model of influenza transmission and vaccination in the United States suggests that at 43% vaccine coverage, which represents the US average from 2012 to 2017, a vaccine that had only 20% efficacy could avert more than 20 million infections, 129,000 hospitalizations, 61,000 deaths, and 2.2 million lost disability adjusted life years (DALYs); optimal reduction of mortality and DALYs required shifting coverage from young adults to the elderly as efficacy decreased, according to the model.
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Article #18-02479: "Optimizing the impact of low-efficacy influenza vaccines," by Pratha Sah, Jan Medlock, Meagan C. Fitzpatrick, Burton H. Singer, and Alison P. Galvani.
MEDIA CONTACT: Burton H. Singer, Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; tel: 609-851-8022; e-mail: <bhsinger@epi.ufl.edu>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences