Real-World Evidence Highlights Influenza Vaccination Effectiveness

As the new flu season arrives in the United States, data has reaffirmed the benefits of getting an annual flu shot this year.

CSL Seqirus today announced data from a range of real-world evidence (RWE) studies, highlighting the important role influenza vaccination plays in protecting public health.

RWE complements randomized controlled trial research, assessing influenza vaccine effectiveness continuously and providing an ever-growing data set on health outcomes. 

"CSL Seqirus remains committed to evaluating vaccine effectiveness through the rigorous generation of real-world evidence," said Gregg Sylvester, Chief Health Officer of CSL Seqirus, in a press release on October 1, 2024.

Among others, RWE studies being presented by CSL Seqirus at OPTIONS XII include:

Results of a study of the 2022/23 influenza season in the U.S. showed that cell-based quadrivalent (QIVc) vaccines prevented more outpatient test-confirmed influenza for those aged six months to 64 years compared with the egg-based quadrivalent (QIVe) vaccines.

Results from a study of the 2023/24 influenza season in the U.S. showed that cell culture-based inactivated influenza vaccine (ccIIV4) generated real-world effectiveness against medically attended, laboratory-confirmed influenza, compared with unvaccinated participants. Vaccine effectiveness was highest in children six months to three years of age at 88%.

Results from a review of the 2017 to 2020 influenza seasons revealed a higher relative effectiveness of QIVc over QIVe/egg-based trivalent (TIVe) vaccines across the three influenza seasons for test-confirmed and clinically diagnosed influenza.

Results from a study of the 2022/23 influenza season in the U.S. showed comparability between MF59® adjuvanted quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (aQIV) and high-dose quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (HD-QIV) in preventing test-confirmed influenza-related emergency department visits and/or inpatient admissions settings among adults aged 65 and over.

Various influenza vaccines for the 2024-2025 flu season are available at clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.