Seasonal flu: Healthcare workers, surplus doses, and more

A number of items in the news recently regarding seasonal (i.e., 'regular') influenza:

• Following up on our earlier post about the importance of vaccinating healthcare workers against seasonal flu, this story in the Houston Chronicle details CDC efforts to increase vaccination rates among this group.

• Regarding flu supply, we've noted several times this fall the very large supply of vaccine doses expected to be available this year -- as many as 20 million more doses that have ever been administered in a single season. This New York Times story ("After Shortage, Vaccine for Flu Goes Unused," 12/16) and this Cox News Service story examine the problems posed by the early delays in vaccine shipments this fall and the doses likely to be wasted as a result.

• The December 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine included three papers on flu vaccination. One article compares the efficacy of live attenuated flu vaccines (i.e., FluMist -- the nasal vaccine) vs. inactivated vaccines (the others that are injected). Another paper studies school-based vaccination programs, and a third is an editorial titled "Different approaches to influenza vaccination". All three papers are nicely summarized in this story by CIDRAP News' Lisa Schnirring.