New data confirms efficacy of 2014-15 flu vaccine

The overall effectiveness of the 2014-15 flu vaccine has been confirmed by new data from Public Health England.

A study published in Eurosurveillance has shown that the child flu vaccine Fluenz, used in last year's flu season, provided 100 percent protection against circulating strains of influenza B and 35 percent protection against influenza A.

All children aged between two and four were offered the Fluenz nasal spray vaccination, along with primary and secondary school aged children in select pilot areas across the UK.

It was also shown that the 2014-15 adult flu vaccine used in the UK was 34 percent effective against circulating strains of flu. Mid-season estimates were as low as three percent, but a shift in the dominant circulating strains occurred throughout the rest of the flu season.

Despite this, Public Health England acknowledged that a slightly lower vaccine effectiveness than usual was seen last year.

Professor Paul Cosford, Public Health England's director for health protection and medical director, said: "Flu vaccination remains the best protection we have against an unpredictable virus which can cause severe illness and deaths each year among at-risk groups."