Background: Many health authorities recommend influenza vaccination of older adults to reduce disease burden. We hypothesized that in tropical and subtropical areas with more prolonged influenza seasons, twice-annual influenza vaccination might provide older adults with improved immunity against influenza.
Methods: In 2014-2015, Hong Kong experienced a substantial A(H3N2) winter epidemic with a mismatched vaccine. Local authorities procured and administered to older adults the 2015 southern hemisphere influenza vaccine, which included an updated and matching A/Switzerland/9715293/2013(H3N2) strain. We compared immune parameters in pre- and postvaccination sera from older adults ≥75 years of age who received 1 vs 2 influenza vaccines per year.
Results: We enrolled 978 older adults with 470 vaccinations for summer 2015 and 827 vaccinations for winter 2015-2016. Recipients of southern hemisphere vaccination had higher geometric mean titers (GMTs) by the hemagglutination inhibition assay against all 3 vaccine strains. When receiving influenza vaccination for the subsequent winter, the southern hemisphere vaccine recipients had higher prevaccination GMTs but lower postvaccination GMTs, compared to those who had not received the southern hemisphere vaccine. Furthermore, cellular immunity was impacted by biannual vaccination, with reduced influenza-specific CD4 T-cell responses in the second season of vaccination.
Conclusions: We observed some reductions in immune responses in the twice-annual vaccination group compared with the once-annual vaccination group, in the context of unchanging vaccine strains, while protection was likely to have been improved during the summer and autumn for the twice-annual vaccination group due to the continued circulation of the A/Switzerland/9715293/2013(H3N2) virus.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cid/cix900 | DOI Listing |
JAMA Cardiol
January 2025
Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Importance: A comprehensive lipid panel is recommended by guidelines to evaluate atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk, but uptake is low.
Objective: To evaluate whether direct outreach including bulk orders with and without text messaging increases lipid screening rates.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Pragmatic randomized clinical trial conducted from June 6, 2023, to September 6, 2023, at 2 primary care practices at an academic health system among patients aged 20 to 75 years with at least 1 primary care visit in the past 3 years who were overdue for lipid screening.
JAMA Cardiol
January 2025
Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara Branch, Ifakara, United Republic of Tanzania.
Importance: Hypertension is the primary cardiovascular risk factor in Africa. Recently revised World Health Organization guidelines recommend starting antihypertensive dual therapy; clinical efficacy and tolerability of low-dose triple combination remain unclear.
Objectives: To compare the effect of 3 treatment strategies on blood pressure control among persons with untreated hypertension in Africa.
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
Importance: Multiple organ dysfunction (MOD) is a leading cause of in-hospital child mortality. For survivors, posthospitalization health care resource use and costs are unknown.
Objective: To evaluate longitudinal health care resource use and costs after hospitalization with MOD in infants (aged <1 year) and children (aged 1-18 years).
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
Importance: Limited research explores mental health disparities between individuals in sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations and cisgender heterosexual (non-SGM) populations using national-level data.
Objective: To explore mental health disparities between SGM and non-SGM populations across sexual orientation, sex assigned at birth, and gender identity within the All of Us Research Program.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study used survey data and linked electronic health records of eligible All of Us Research Program participants from May 31, 2017, to June 30, 2022.
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
Importance: There is a clear benefit to body armor against firearms; however, it remains unclear how these vests may influence day-to-day patient encounters when worn by emergency medical services (EMS).
Objective: To determine the association of ballistic vests worn by EMS clinicians with workplace violence (WPV) and disparities in care among racial and/or ethnic minority patients.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Prospective cohort study of a volunteer-based sample of EMS clinicians at a large, multistate EMS agency encompassing 15 ground sites across the Midwest from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.
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