The Pediatric infectious disease journal
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Jun 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudySafety and immunogenicity of an inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine in children 6 months through 8 years of age.
Strains of 2 distinct influenza B lineages (Victoria and Yamagata) have cocirculated in the United States for over a decade, but trivalent influenza vaccines (TIVs) contain only 1 B-lineage strain. Each season, some or most influenza B disease is caused by the B lineage not represented in that season's TIV. Quadrivalent influenza vaccines (QIVs) containing a strain from each B lineage should resolve this problem. ⋯ This study demonstrated that QIV is safe and immunogenic among children 6 months to <9 years of age. These findings, along with data from 2 other studies of this QIV in adults, suggest that QIV should offer protection against both B lineages with a safety profile similar to TIV across all ages.