One More Reason That Influenza Vaccination Is Important

Influenza vaccination is associated with lower risk for hospitalization for influenza infection, but its effect on influenza-associated hospitalizations for community-acquired pneumonia is unclear. In this prospective case-control study, researchers identified 2767 patients (age, ≥6 months; 50% children; median age of adults, 55) hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia in four U.S. cities during three influenza seasons; 162 (6%) of these patients tested positive for influenza.

Of the 162 patients with influenza-associated pneumonia, 28 (17%) had been vaccinated, compared with 766 of 2605 (29%) patients with influenza-negative pneumonia. In analyses adjusted for a wide range of demographic and clinical factors (e.g., age, sex, race, sm…