Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center in California compared the relative efficacies of FluBlok with standard-dose influenza vaccine in adults less than 65 years of age (Hsiao A, Yee A, Fireman B, et al. “Recombinant or Standard-Dose Influenza Vaccine in Adults Under 65 Years of Age.” N Engl J Med. 2023 Dec 14;389(24):2245-2255.). FluBlok, which is made using recombinant DNA technology, contains three times the amount of influenza hemagglutinin (45 micrograms versus 15 micrograms per strain) compared to standard-dose vaccine. Unlike FluBlok, the standard-dose vaccines, which are made in eggs, are subject to antigenic drift during manufacture.
The study population included 1,630,328 vaccinees between the ages of 18 and 64 years (632,962 in the FluBlok group and 997,366 in the standard-dose group). Investigators found that in those between 50 and 64 years of age, FluBlok was significantly more likely to protect against influenza infection (P=0.002) as compared with the standard-dose group. FluBlok was not, however, significantly more protective against hospitalization.
The authors concluded, “The high-dose recombinant vaccine conferred more protection against PCR-confirmed influenza than an egg-based standard-dose vaccine among adults between the ages of 50 and 64 years.”
Contributed by: Paul A. Offit, MD
Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center in California compared the relative efficacies of FluBlok with standard-dose influenza vaccine in adults less than 65 years of age (Hsiao A, Yee A, Fireman B, et al. “Recombinant or Standard-Dose Influenza Vaccine in Adults Under 65 Years of Age.” N Engl J Med. 2023 Dec 14;389(24):2245-2255.). FluBlok, which is made using recombinant DNA technology, contains three times the amount of influenza hemagglutinin (45 micrograms versus 15 micrograms per strain) compared to standard-dose vaccine. Unlike FluBlok, the standard-dose vaccines, which are made in eggs, are subject to antigenic drift during manufacture.
The study population included 1,630,328 vaccinees between the ages of 18 and 64 years (632,962 in the FluBlok group and 997,366 in the standard-dose group). Investigators found that in those between 50 and 64 years of age, FluBlok was significantly more likely to protect against influenza infection (P=0.002) as compared with the standard-dose group. FluBlok was not, however, significantly more protective against hospitalization.
The authors concluded, “The high-dose recombinant vaccine conferred more protection against PCR-confirmed influenza than an egg-based standard-dose vaccine among adults between the ages of 50 and 64 years.”
Contributed by: Paul A. Offit, MD