Vaccine. Impact of a school-based influenza immunization program on disease burden: Comparison of two Tennessee counties.

[Giuseppe]

Vaccine. 2009 May 5;27(20):2695-700. Epub 2009 Feb 24.

Impact of a school-based influenza immunization program on disease burden: Comparison of two Tennessee counties.

Poehling KA, Talbot HK, Williams JV, Zhu Y, Lott J, Patterson L, Edwards KM, Griffin MR. - Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States.

Outpatient burden of laboratory-confirmed influenza among children in Knox and Davidson Counties was compared in 2006-2007 when only Knox County had a school-based influenza vaccine campaign. Of 1016 eligible children seeking outpatient care, 87% were enrolled and 20% were influenza-positive. Estimated influenza vaccination coverage was similar in Knox and Davidson for preschool-age children (36% versus 33%) but higher in Knox County for school-age children (44% versus 12%). Influenza detection was higher among Knox than Davidson County preschool-age children (18% versus 10%) but similar among school-age children (28% versus 27%). These data are consistent with a direct effect of the campaign in school-age children.

PMID: 19428881 [PubMed - in process]

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[allaned]

Re: Vaccine. Impact of a school-based influenza immunization program on disease burden: Comparison of two Tennessee counties.

Have I missed something here?

Similar preschool innoculations in Knox and Davidson = ~2x the flu in Knox; ~2x the innoculations in Knox = similar school age infections in both Knox and Davidson; within Davidson, ~3x the innoculations among preschoolers resulted in ~ same level of infections among school age kids.

How exactly are these results "consistent with a direct effect of the campaign in school-age children"?