Importance of flu vaccination
The WHO estimates that flu causes about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths annually worldwide. Providing a vaccine service or signposting at-risk patients to somewhere they can receive their vaccination is an important public health service that can help stem the rise of antimicrobial resistance.
Vaccines have an impact on antibiotic-resistant infections and reduce use of antibiotics in two ways: through direct reduction of organisms and strains carrying resistant genes that are specifically targeted by developed vaccines and via a secondary effect through a reduction in febrile illnesses that often lead to inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, as well as preventing bacterial superinfections such as pneumonia following primary vaccine preventable illnesses such as influenza.
A recent review has highlighted the impact (primary and secondary effects) of existing vaccines in reducing antibiotic resistance in several countries.