Vanderbilt was the lead site for an influenza vaccine study in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients that may lead to a change in the current flu vaccine recommendations in this vulnerable population.

A Vanderbilt study found that the household spread of flu during the 2021-2022 season was more than twice as high as it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flu season came a month early this year in Tennessee and hit hard, disproportionately affecting children, according to Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Tennessee Department of Health and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

After a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Flulapalooza returned in person and thousands of Vanderbilt employees and students flocked to the daylong event.

Pediatricians with the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program are looking for healthy infants and children (6 months – 8 years of age) to take part in a nasal influenza vaccine study.

Vanderbilt research found parents who are reluctant to vaccinate their children against the flu are more than five times as likely to decline the COVID-19 vaccine for their children.