Researchers find timely vaccination important ahead of flu season

According to a release, the findings came from a collaboration between the University of Virginia School of Medicine and the Federal University of Ceará in Brazil.

 

The researchers found that poor timing of influenza vaccination campaigns in the semi-arid region of Brazil led to an increase in premature births, lower birth-weight babies, and the need to deliver more babies by cesarean section.

 

The release says experts urge people that getting the flu vaccine this year will be very important in order to reduce the burden on hospitals that are still struggling with COVID-19.

 

“Working closely with Professor Aldo Lima, UFC graduate student Quirino Filho and Ceará health officials, UVA graduate student Gabriel Hanson and a team of undergraduate BME Capstone students found evidence for circulation of seasonal influenza in the weeks and months prior to the rollout of national flu vaccine campaigns in the state of Ceará,” said researcher Sean Moore, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at UVA Children’s. "This misalignment was associated with seasonal patterns of premature birth, low birth weight and birth by cesarean.”

 

The researchers teamed up to better understand the effect of severe respiratory infections on pregnancy.

 

They looked at severe acute respiratory infections and flu vaccinations in the Brazilian state of Ceará between 2013 and 2018.

 

The release says they found that between 20 to 40 weeks after the peak of the flu season, birthrights fell and rates of premature births increased by nearly five percent.

 

It adds that the 61 babies who were born to mothers who suffered from a severe acute respiratory infection weighed about 10 percent less at birth.

 

Additionally, this trend was seen year after year.

 

The researchers say children exposed to flu and other infections before birth are also at a greater risk of neurocognitive, physical and educational problems later on in their lives.

 

The release says they concluded that earlier flu vaccination campaigns in Brazil would better protect pregnant women and their children.

 

Additionally, the flu season in Brazil typically starts in Ceará so improving the timing of vaccination campaigns could result in benefits across the country.

 

“Brazil is a country with enviably high influenza vaccine uptake. Greater than 80 percent of people at high risk for severe influenza. Our data suggest giving vaccines earlier in the year in Ceará would better protect women during pregnancy and reduce bad outcomes,” Moore said. “Influenza vaccines are not yet recommended in infants under six months of age. So when a mother chooses to receive the flu vaccine during pregnancy, she is giving an early gift to her baby. Mom’s vaccine-acquired antibodies are shared with her fetus and persist to help protect her baby against influenza during the vulnerable first months of life.”

 

The release says these findings send an important message about the importance of timely vaccination in Brazil and globally.

 

These findings have been published in the scientific journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, which is published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

Flu vaccines are recommended for anyone who is at least six months of age.