Don’t prescribe MF-59 adjuvated influenza vaccine in elderly people.

Don’t prescribe MF-59 adjuvated influenza vaccine in elderly people.

Type of practice

Drugs

Age

Geriatric

Topic Area

Clinical Pharmacy and Therapy

The population at increased risk for developing influenza is represented by subjects aged ≥65 years or suffering from co-morbidities. However, defining the “place in therapy” of the different types of influenza vaccine is difficult because comparative studies based on clinically relevant end-points (reduced hospitalization rates, deaths) are lacking and are generally characterised by a poor methodological quality. These limitations apply in particular to the MF-59 adjuvated type of vaccine. In conclusion, the adjuvated vaccine has no advantages while its price is considerable higher than that of the non-adjuvated vaccine.

Sources

1. Frey SE, Reyes MR, Reynales H et al. Comparison of the safety and immunogenicity of an MF59®-adjuvanted with a non-adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccine in elderly subjects. Vaccine. 2014 Sep 3;32(39):5027-34. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.07.013.
2. Trippoli S. Comparison between MF59-adjuvanted vaccine and non -adjuvanted vaccines: data are still lacking about clinical outcomes (Comment). PubMed Commons, available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26022564#cm26022564_11401 accessed 17 August 2015.

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