a LSE Health , LSE , London , UK.
b Centre for Health Economics , University of York , York , UK.
Expert Rev Vaccines. 2016 May;15(5):659-70. doi: 10.1586/14760584.2016.1138861. Epub 2016 Feb 16.
Children and adolescents experience some of the highest rates of influenza infection and the subsequent burden on both infected children and their parents/carers is substantial. Vaccinating children and adolescents against seasonal influenza has the potential to reduce the burden of disease in both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals due to the pivotal role that younger age groups play in the transmission of infection. While countries such as the USA, Canada and the UK have consequently recommended the universal vaccination of children, the vast majority of European countries have not yet extended their vaccination policies to this age group. This review examines the rationale for childhood and adolescent vaccination against seasonal influenza and reviews current vaccination policies in Europe. We discuss key policy considerations for European countries that must be considered when extending vaccination programmes to younger age groups alongside recommendations for European policy makers based on our findings.
儿童和青少年是流感感染率最高的人群之一，因此无论是对受感染的儿童还是他们的父母/照顾者来说，疾病负担都相当大。为季节性流感接种疫苗，有可能减轻已接种疫苗和未接种疫苗人群的疾病负担，因为年轻人群在感染传播中起着关键作用。尽管美国、加拿大和英国等国家已经建议对儿童进行普遍接种，但绝大多数欧洲国家尚未将其疫苗接种政策扩大到这一年龄组。本综述探讨了为季节性流感接种疫苗以保护儿童和青少年的基本原理，并审查了欧洲目前的疫苗接种政策。我们讨论了欧洲国家在将疫苗接种计划扩大到低龄人群时必须考虑的关键政策问题，并根据我们的研究结果为欧洲政策制定者提出建议。
