High-Dose Influenza Vaccines Cut Hospitalizations: Landmark Trials Shape Cardiovascular Prevention

Highlight

– Two of the largest individually randomized trials, DANFLU-2 and GALFLU, demonstrate that high-dose influenza vaccines provide superior protection against influenza and substantially reduce hospitalization rates compared to standard-dose vaccines in adults aged 65 years and older.
– Pooled analysis (FLUNITY-HD) of over 466,000 older adults reveals significant reductions in hospitalizations for influenza or pneumonia, cardiorespiratory diseases, and all-cause hospitalizations with the high-dose vaccine.
– Complementary data from the DAN-RSV trial indicate that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination also reduces hospitalization in older adults, supporting incorporation of vaccines as a core pillar of cardiovascular disease prevention.

Study Background and Disease Burden