Effectiveness and economical impact of vaccination against influenza amonga working population in Moscow

In Russia, influenza and acute respiratory infections (ARIs) represent a ma jor healthcare problem, leading to increased spending on treatment, welfare payments for employees temporarily off work. Our objective was to provide decision makers with information regarding the impact of flu vaccination in a working population of Moscow. We performed two retrospective studies, us ing information from administrative databases, the: first assessing the eff ectiveness of flu vaccination, and the second evaluating the economic impac t of vaccination in termed of reduced absenteeism due to illness. Our findi ngs show that vaccination against influenza was associated with a 63% reduc tion of influenza illness and also associated with a reduction of lost work time. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.