Influenza vaccine prevented about four in ten confirmed infections in health workers

The edition in brief

A meta-analysis of 27 cohort and test-negative studies in 38,855 health workers estimated influenza vaccine effectiveness at 34% overall (95% CI 19–47%), 43% against laboratory-confirmed influenza and 26% against influenza-like illness. Moderate, heterogeneous protection is still protection for staff and the patients they see. In Galicia, universal infant nirsevimab was associated with an 86% reduction in RSV lower-respiratory admissions in the first season and 55% (23–74%) in the second; the authors stress that the second-season finding is unreplicated and observational. The IRMA trial randomised 2,168 Malawian infants and found that six months of iron syrup or iron-containing micronutrient powder alongside malaria chemoprevention did not improve cognitive scores or reduce anaemia, nor did it increase malaria. Phase 1 and 2 trials of a 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in 1,232 Chinese adults found mainly mild reactions and non-inferior seroconversion to PPSV23 for all 24 serotypes at the high dose; efficacy is untested.