Grant: Applied Public Health Chair - LOI

Influenza (the flu) makes a lot of people sick each year. Vaccines are the main strategy to prevent influenza, but many people avoid them due to concerns about how well they work, how safe they are, and how and where they are given. My research program will assess various aspects of influenza vaccines, with the goal of creating evidence to support influenza immunization. Young children, elderly adults, and those with chronic illnesses are among the high-risk groups that are more likely to be hospitalized or die from influenza. The first objective is to study how well influenza vaccines work to protect these groups of people from being hospitalized or dying from influenza. Because the vaccine changes every year, ongoing monitoring of effectiveness is important to maintain confidence in the vaccine. Recent studies have raised concerns that the vaccines used during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic may cause a serious sleep disorder called narcolepsy. A compound known as an adjuvant, used to boost the effectiveness of a vaccine and reduce the amount of precious antigens required per vaccine, has been implicated as the cause. The second objective is to study the relationship between H1N1 pandemic vaccines and narcolepsy. Since we may need to use adjuvants in future pandemic vaccines, we must understand their harms before the next pandemic. Children drive influenza outbreaks by spreading it to peers and family members. Vaccinating children may reduce influenza in a community. Giving influenza vaccines in schools may be convenient for parents, but children may be afraid of needles. An alternative to traditional injected vaccines (flu shots) is the newer, more effective nasal spray vaccine (FluMist). The third objective is to compare giving FluMist and flu shots to children through schools, and look at uptake, acceptability, cost, and influenza infection rates among children and their household members. These results will shape future influenza vaccine policy.