Clinical Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination in Manitoba

Objective. —To assess the clinical effectiveness of influenza vaccination in preventing influenza-associated hospitalization and death. Design. —Case-control study. Setting and Patients. —Noninstitutionalized persons aged 45 years or older living in Manitoba, on December 1, 1982, and December 1, 1985. Methods. —Linked records of the Manitoba population registry, hospital-discharge abstracts, physician claims for ambulatory-patient visits and influenza vaccination, and vital statistics were used. A matched-set analysis estimated the clinical effectiveness of influenza vaccination in preventing hospital admissions and deaths from influenza-associated conditions during influenza A (H3N2) outbreak periods in 1982 to 1983 (12 weeks) and 1985 to 1986 (10 weeks). The analysis adjusted for hospital discharge and ambulatory care for high-risk conditions within the previous 15 months and 3 months, respectively. Results. —Influenza vaccination prevented 32% to 39% of hospital admissions with pneumonia and influenza and 15% to 34% of admissions with all respiratory conditions. Vaccination was 43% to 65% effective in preventing hospital deaths with these conditions (all listed diagnoses) and 27% to 30% effective in preventing deaths from all causes. Conclusion. —Influenza vaccination has substantial clinical effectiveness in preventing hospital admission and death from influenza-associated conditions in noninstitutionalized individuals. ( JAMA . 1993;270:1956-1961)