DSEN Abstract
Safety and effectiveness of dose-sparing strategies for intramuscular seasonal influenza vaccine: A rapid scoping review

What is the issue?

• A shortage in influenza vaccines was of concern in 2020 as the novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) closely mimicked symptoms of seasonal influenza
• The question of vaccine shortage remains relevant in Canada and other jurisdictions

What was the aim of the study?

• The objective of this rapid scoping review was to identify studies of dose-sparing strategies for administration of intramuscular seasonal influenza vaccines in healthy individuals of all ages.

How was the study conducted?

• MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, and grey literature was searched for relevant studies published in English in the last 20 years
• References of relevant systematic reviews and included studies were also scanned
• Title/abstract and full-text screening were carried out by two reviewers independently
• Data extraction was conducted by one reviewer and verified by a second reviewer
• The yield and volume of research found was summarized descriptively

What did the study find?

• 13 RCTs were included; and only two studies reported on the effectiveness of our outcomes of interest (i.e., laboratory-confirmed influenza and influenza-like illness).
• The review found that the most common interventions were the trivalent vaccine, followed by the quadrivalent influenza vaccine
• There remains a need for further research due to the low number of studies in health adults and the lack of studies assessing confirmed influenza and influenza-like illness

Link to publication

Date modified:

2024-10-10