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NHS urged to consider quadrivalent flu jab

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NHS urged to consider quadrivalent flu jab

The NHS and other European healthcare providers should start administering quadrivalent vaccines to better protect against the influenza virus according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

In the UK, the NHS recommends that adults receive a jab known as a trivalent flu vaccine, which only protects against three of these four strains. But data suggests that the fourth strain – sometimes known as ‘Japanese flu’ – is now the most prevalent in Europe.

Thomas Moore, Healthcare Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “By most measures, the 2017–2018 influenza season has thus far been particularly severe, and the disease is currently placing a significant burden on healthcare services in Europe and North America.”  

The more expensive quadrivalent vaccines are the most prescribed influenza vaccine in the US. However, most European patients still receive the trivalent vaccine. In the UK, the NHS only provides a quadrivalent vaccine to children below the age of 18, with all other patients receiving a trivalent vaccine.

Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on the different flu strains in circulation suggest that use of the trivalent vaccine may have caused an increased circulation of Japanese flu in Europe.

Of cases tested across Europe during the 2017–2018 season, 65% have been Influenza B, of which the most common subtype has been Japanese flu. In comparison, only 9% of patients in the US have been found to have Japanese flu, with the H3N2 strain—also known as ‘Aussie Flu’ —being the most prevalent at 78% of infections.

Moore continues: “There are several factors that could contribute to the difference in influenza strains observed between continents. For example, a high prevalence of the H3N2 strain in Europe during the 2016–2017 season is expected to have carried over some protection against Aussie flu this year. However, it is highly likely that the stark difference in prevalence of Japanese flu between Europe and the US is affected by the continued use of trivalent vaccines.”

The quadrivalent influenza vaccines that are currently available in the UK are GlaxoSmithKline’s Fluarix Tetra, which launched in 2013, and Sanofi Pasteur’s quadrivalent influenza vaccine, which launched in 2017. At a cost of £9.94 and £8.00 respectively, GlobalData points out that these vaccines only cost the NHS slightly more than trivalent vaccines, which cost approximately £6 per jab, depending on supplier.

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