Review: vaccines prevent influenza and influenza-like illness in healthy children <16 years of age
Q In healthy children <16 years of age, are influenza vaccines efficacious (ie, prevent confirmed influenza) and effective (ie, prevent influenza-like illness)?
METHODS
Data sources:
Medline (1966–2004), EMBASE/Excerpta Medica (1974–2004), Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2005), Biological Abstracts (1969–2004), Science Citation Index (1974–2004), Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System website (http://www.vaers.org), vaccine manufacturers, and authors of relevant studies.
Study selection and assessment:
randomised controlled trials (RCTs), semi-randomised, cohort, and case-control studies in any language that enrolled healthy children <16 years of age in any geographical location; compared any influenza vaccine (including unlicensed types) given independently, in any dose, preparation, or time schedule, with placebo or no intervention. 51 studies (n = 263 987) met the selection criteria: 14 RCTs and …
