Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Against Pneumonia and COPD Exacerbations Among Patients with Chronic Obstructive...

Background/Objectives: Influenza infection is a major trigger of pneumonia and acute exacerbations among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, national laboratory-confirmed evidence on influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) in this high-risk population remains limited. This study aimed to estimate the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccination against influenza-associated pneumonia and COPD exacerbations among patients with COPD in Thailand. Methods: We conducted a nationwide retrospective test-negative design study using administrative healthcare data from the National Health Security Office linked with laboratory-confirmed influenza surveillance data between 1 June 2013 and 31 May 2025, covering twelve influenza seasons (2013-2024). COPD-related clinical episodes among patients aged ≥40 years who presented with pneumonia or acute exacerbation of COPD and underwent RT-PCR testing for influenza were included. Modified Poisson regression with cluster-robust standard errors was used to estimate adjusted risk ratios (RRs), and VE was calculated as (1 - adjusted RR) × 100. Results: A total of 606,072 COPD-related clinical episodes were included, of which 192,224 (31.7%) were influenza-positive. The overall adjusted VE against influenza-associated pneumonia was 55.9% (95% CI: 47.3-63.1), while VE against influenza-associated COPD exacerbations was 67.0% (95% CI: 48.8-78.8). VE estimates were broadly similar across age groups and consistent across COPD severity strata. Conclusions: Seasonal influenza vaccination was associated with substantial protection against influenza-associated pneumonia and COPD exacerbations among patients with COPD in Thailand.