Table 4.
Current Guidelines on Influenza Vaccine Administration
| Institution | General Population | High-Risk Population(s) |
|---|---|---|
| World Health Organization (WHO)∗ | Seasonal influenza vaccination is recommended for people of all ages to help prevent the spread of disease and associated complications (139) | Priority groups include children between the ages of 6 and 59 months, elderly, health care workers, and individuals with chronic medical conditions. Pregnant women are considered the highest-priority group and should receive seasonal inoculation when trying to conceive and during pregnancy (139) |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)† | Routine annual influenza vaccination for all persons age ≥6 months who do not have contraindications (48) | Early inoculation at the beginning of the season, using a quadrivalent formulation like quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine or quadrivalent recombinant influenza vaccine, is recommended for people with asthma, HF, and diabetes (48) |
| European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control∗ | All Europeans who are recommended to get the influenza vaccine should be vaccinated, with emphasis on high-risk groups (140) | Strongly recommends seasonal influenza immunization for all groups considered high-risk, which include older adults (usually ≥65 yrs), persons with chronic health conditions (≥6 months of age), persons with conditions that may aggravate a respiratory illness, persons with immunocompromise or immune-suppression, pregnant persons, and health care workers (140) |
| National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) – Canada† | Early inoculation at the beginning of the fall season for all persons older than 6 months (46) | Special emphasis on the importance of vaccination in high-risk populations (46) |
| American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC)† | Strongly recommends the influenza vaccination in all patients with CVD (4,141) | |
| European Society of Cardiology (ESC)† | Annual influenza vaccination for patients with established CVD, especially the elderly (class IB recommendation) (142) | |
| American Diabetes Association (ADA)∗ | Annual vaccination against influenza is recommended for all people ≥6 months of age, especially those with diabetes (143) | |
| Diabetes Canada† | Annual inoculation against the influenza virus in all patients with diabetes (144) | |
| American College of Physicians (ACP)∗ | As per ACIP’s recommendations | As per ACIP’s recommendations |
| College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)∗ | As per NACI’s recommendations (145) | As per NACI’s recommendations (145) |
CVD = cardiovascular disease, HF = heart failure.
∗
Information obtained from public statements on the corresponding institutions websites.
†
Information obtained from publicly available and approved guidelines.