Hadigal Sanjay, Cook Joseph
Department of Medical Affairs, Viatris, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560087, India.
Department of GMARWE, Viatris, Canonsburg, PA 15317, USA.
Vaccine X. 2022 Oct 30;12:100236. doi: 10.1016/j.jvacx.2022.100236. eCollection 2022 Dec.
To understand physicians' knowledge and perception regarding the effectiveness of influenza vaccines and to communicate the importance of understanding the differences in terms of vaccine efficacy and vaccine effectiveness.
This cross-sectional quantitative online survey was conducted using a questionnaire comprising 20 questions, between September 11 and 19, 2021. The survey was conducted across 14 cities in Germany, including physicians actively involved in influenza vaccine purchasing decisions. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data and paired -test was performed to compare the physicians' understanding of efficacy and effectiveness.
Eighty physicians (21%) completed the survey. Physicians defined the terms vaccine efficacy and effectiveness similarly, with only minimal distinctions. Forty-one percent agreed that both terms can be used interchangeably in clinical practice. A higher proportion used the phrase "observational study" for vaccine efficacy and 21% associated "controlled environment" with effectiveness. The majority of physicians indicated that antigen match to circulating strain plays a large role in overall effectiveness and vaccine coverage strongly influences overall influenza case prevention. Vaccine performance in observational studies under so-called "real-world conditions" and (vaccine independent) strain match were the most important factors to assess vaccine performance and vaccine choice.
These findings show that physicians in Germany use the terms vaccine efficacy and vaccine effectiveness interchangeably. A better knowledge of the differences between these terms will help to make informed decisions on the choice of influenza vaccine for its population. Finally, and most important, increasing the annual flu vaccine uptake rates will have more and the greatest beneficial impact on reducing flu-related disease and public health, regardless of the expression of the benefits for different vaccine types.
了解医生对流感疫苗有效性的知识和认知，并传达理解疫苗效力和疫苗效果差异的重要性。
这项横断面定量在线调查于2021年9月11日至19日使用包含20个问题的问卷进行。调查在德国的14个城市开展，包括积极参与流感疫苗采购决策的医生。使用描述性统计来汇总数据，并进行配对检验以比较医生对效力和效果的理解。
80名医生（21%）完成了调查。医生对疫苗效力和效果这两个术语的定义相似，只有细微差别。41%的人同意这两个术语在临床实践中可以互换使用。更高比例的人将“观察性研究”用于疫苗效力，21%的人将“受控环境”与效果相关联。大多数医生表示，与流行毒株的抗原匹配在总体效果中起很大作用，疫苗接种覆盖率强烈影响总体流感病例预防。在所谓“现实世界条件”下的观察性研究中的疫苗表现以及（与疫苗无关的）毒株匹配是评估疫苗表现和疫苗选择的最重要因素。
这些发现表明，德国的医生互换使用疫苗效力和疫苗效果这两个术语。更好地了解这些术语之间的差异将有助于就为其人群选择流感疫苗做出明智的决定。最后，也是最重要的，提高年度流感疫苗接种率将对减少流感相关疾病和公共卫生产生更多且最大的有益影响，无论不同疫苗类型的益处如何表述。
