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Age inappropriate influenza vaccination in infants less than 6 months old, 2010-2018
Tiffany A Suragh1, Beth Hibbs1, Paige Marquez1
1Immunization Safety Office, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States.
Insights
Influenza vaccine errors in infants under 6 months old are occurring. While common symptoms like fever and irritability were reported, serious adverse events were generally absent in these vaccine administration errors.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Vaccinology
- Public Health
Background:
- Annual influenza vaccination is recommended for individuals 6 months and older.
- Vaccinating infants younger than 6 months is a vaccine administration error.
- Limited safety data exists for influenza vaccination in infants under 6 months, especially neonates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze adverse events (AEs) following influenza vaccination in infants less than 6 months old.
- To identify risk factors associated with these vaccination errors.
Main Methods:
- Searched the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database.
- Analyzed reports from the 2010-2018 influenza seasons.
- Conducted descriptive and qualitative analysis of adverse events and risk factors.
Main Results:
- 114 reports of influenza vaccination in infants under 6 months were identified.
- Common AEs included pyrexia, irritability, crying, and diarrhea.
- Identified risk factors: patient mix-ups, lack of provider verification, and confusion with vaccine packaging/names.
Conclusions:
- Vaccination errors involving influenza vaccine in infants under 6 months are occurring.
- Healthcare providers need awareness to prevent these errors.
- Serious adverse events were generally absent in cases of inadvertent influenza vaccination in this population.
Background:
Annual influenza vaccination is recommended for persons 6 months or older and vaccination in infants less than 6 months old is a vaccine administration error. There are limited safety studies in this population, particularly among infants less than 6 weeks old.
Methods:
We searched the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database for reports of adverse events (AEs) following influenza vaccination in infants less than 6 months old for the 2010-2018 influenza seasons. We conducted a descriptive and qualitative analysis of reports to describe AEs and identify possible risk factors.
Results:
In total, 114 reports were identified; only 21 reported a specific AE. Pyrexia, irritability, crying and diarrhea were the most common symptoms. There were 12 reports involving newborns; the most common circumstance cited was confusion with the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine. The following risk factors were identified: (1) individuals getting vaccinated together resulting in patient mix-ups; (2) healthcare provider not verifying the patient's information; (3) individual provider confusion due to similarities in vaccines' packaging and names of vaccines that sound alike.
Conclusions:
Reports identified of influenza vaccination in infants less than 6 months old indicate that vaccination errors in this age group are occurring and healthcare providers who vaccinate infants should be aware of how to prevent such events. Our study adds to the existing literature by providing valuable information regarding the general absence of serious adverse events in the case of vaccination errors associated with inadvertent influenza vaccine within this population.
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