THE influenza vaccine, administered by pharmacists to more than one million Australians last year, can act as a preventive measure for heart attack and respiratory hospitalisations, new research from the University of New South Wales shows.
Authors said that extending the National Immunisation Program (NIP) and providing the influenza vaccination to adults aged 50-64, has the potential to prevent 1,482 heart attacks, 314 cases of influenza/pneumonia and 338 respiratory hospitalisations.
Cost savings would arise from averted heart attack hospitalisations, the researchers added.
The work was presented at the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting 2019 in Adelaide, last Fri 09 Aug.
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