The case to rethink India’s influenza vaccination strategy

For most of us, influenza or “flu” is rejected as a seasonal disorder that causes fever, cough and body pain for a week before disappearing. However, the flu is far from harmless. It is an important cause of respiratory disease, hospitalization and deaths between worldwide, especially children, elderly adults and underlying medical conditions.

In India, influenza load is important, but is usually underestimated. While the government watches seasonal flu through the national surveillance system, the official focus remains largely on the H1N1 factor, that is, the “swine flu”. Recently, however, 2024-2025 winter months have seen an unexpected outbreak of influenza B, which is a tension that usually causes a lighter disease in children. As the season after the Monsoon emerged, the H3N2 straw continued a new fluctuation.

Two vaccines oddity

Latest surveillance data to show There are two different peaks of India’s flu outbreaks: in the winter (January-March) and the post-Monsoon period (July-September). This model forces us to think if our current approach to influenza vaccination is sufficiently protective with the short -lived protection provided by existing influenza vaccines.

The influenza virus undergoes genetic changes known as antigenic drift. They allow the body to escape from immune defenses and to update vaccines regularly. Unlike measles or child paralysis vaccines that provide long -term immunity, influenza vaccines only provide moderate protection and are reshaped every year. Multiple flu strains such as H1N1, H3N2 and Influenza B around the world circulate at the same time and are very difficult to match the circulating viruses.

The two main types of vaccines available in India are infliable influenza vaccines applied by injection given as nasal spray. Both types can reduce the risk of influenza, but their activities vary greatly depending on tension and vaccination age. . protection Typically, it is the most powerful against H1N1, the middle against influenza B and the weakest against H3N2.

The biggest concern about these vaccines is the limited protection time. Antibody levels increase after vaccination, peaks within a few weeks and gradually decreases. A lot work It has shown that the vaccine activity has decreased significantly within three to six months, and that some evidence shows that protection can only disappear in almost 90 days. For countries with a single flu season, this decrease is less problem, because well -timed one -year dose can protect people sufficiently in the dense period. However, in India, where the virus hits twice a year, short -lived immunity leaves the large segments of the population vulnerable at the second summit.

Therefore, the annual flu vaccine does not fit the reality of India. A firing before the monsoon can protect against epidemics in July-September, but when the winter wave arrived in January, most of this immunity has decreased. Similarly, a shot before Winter can protect people until March, but will not stop in the next monsoon season. In other words, whichever dose is selected, half of the flu load of the year is not accepted.

Less than 5 %

The logical alternative is to offer a two -year flu vaccine program for India. Within the scope of this system, people would receive a dose in May or June just before the beginning of the monso, and in November or December they would receive another dose before the winter wave. This approach can provide more consistent protection at both summits, significantly reduce the number of influenza cases, hospitalization and deaths.

Although two flu shots per year may seem challenging, health benefits may be important for children who make up the greatest share of hospitalization and deaths related to influenza in India.

Despite the flu vaccines that have existed for more than ten years, Less than 5 % The Indians take them. This lack of acceptance stems from the perception that influenza is partially partially limited from public consciousness and the absence of partly the absence of government policy support. Currently, influenza vaccines are not part of the universal vaccination program (UIP). Instead, they are left to the private market and are usually seen as optional. For a disease that causes serious cases every year, this indifference is surprising and costly.

If the two ugly vaccines are supported by the government policy, it can be a turning point. By incorporating it to UIP, India can benefit from the powerful domestic vaccine production capacity to make vaccines more appropriate and accessible. When combined with public awareness campaigns, such a movement can increase the scope of the movement and normalize influenza vaccination in the public mind.

Vipin M. Vashishtha Director and Pediatrician, Mangla Hospital and Research Center, Bijnor. Puneet gambling clinician, gambling children clinic, new Delhi.

Published – 05 October 2025 05:30