To date, STIKO has recommended annual vaccination with a seasonal influenza vaccine “containing the antigen combination currently endorsed by WHO”, without specification of vaccine type. In 2011, a trivalent live-attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) was licensed in the European Union (EU) for children and adolescents aged 2–17 years; however, it was not available in Germany until 2012. STIKO evaluated the need for a vaccine-type-specific recommendation for this age group, following its standard operating procedure for the development of evidence-based vaccination recommendations (SOP) [3]. Since this was not a completely new recommendation but an adaptation of the existing recommendation of seasonal influenza vaccination, only the pertinent items of the SOP have been addressed.
- Background paper
- Europe
- Germany
- Influenza
