Safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine in children 6 months through 8 years of age.

BACKGROUND

Strains of 2 distinct influenza B lineages (Victoria and Yamagata) have cocirculated in the United States for over a decade, but trivalent influenza vaccines (TIVs) contain only 1 B-lineage strain. Each season, some or most influenza B disease is caused by the B lineage not represented in that season's TIV. Quadrivalent influenza vaccines (QIVs) containing a strain from each B lineage should resolve this problem.

METHODS

This was a Phase III, randomized, multicenter trial in the United States among children 6 months to <9 years of age to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of inactivated QIV compared with inactivated control TIVs containing opposite B-lineage strains. Participants were randomized at a ratio of approximately 4:1:1 to receive QIV, TIV containing a Victoria-lineage B strain or TIV containing a Yamagata-lineage B strain. Sera were collected pre- and 28-days post-final vaccination and safety was assessed for 6 months after the last injection.

RESULTS

A total of 4363 participants were enrolled. QIV induced noninferior antibody responses to all A strains and corresponding B strains compared with the control TIVs and superior antibody responses to the noncorresponding B strain in each TIV. Rates of solicited reactions and unsolicited and serious adverse events were similar in all groups.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that QIV is safe and immunogenic among children 6 months to <9 years of age. These findings, along with data from 2 other studies of this QIV in adults, suggest that QIV should offer protection against both B lineages with a safety profile similar to TIV across all ages.