In addition, LAIV has been studied

in 73 completed or ongoing clinical trials involving more than 140,000 individuals. Analysis of data available through the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) for the first 2 seasons of LAIV use in the United States did not identify any unexpected serious risks in children after LAIV was approved for individuals 5–49 years of age [6]. Additionally, initial data from VAERS for children 24–59 months of age who received LAIV during the 2007–2009 seasons did not identify major new safety concerns [7]. The present study demonstrated that during the 2007–2009 influenza seasons, the use of LAIV was low among children younger than 24 months, children aged 24–59 months with asthma, selleck screening library and children aged 24–59 months with altered immunocompetence. The rate of LAIV vaccination in the general population of children aged 24–59 months increased 4.5-fold between 2007–2008 and 2008–2009. This increased use in the recommended population likely reflects the increased acceptance of LAIV

among providers in the months and years following approval for this age group. As would be expected, the use of LAIV in nonrecommended populations also increased, yet, with the exception of use in the immunocompromised cohort, the rising rate of use in these groups was Caspase inhibitor still lower than that observed in the general population. This trend and the overall low rate of use suggest that healthcare providers are generally complying with the product labeling for the use of LAIV in children aged younger than 5 years. The rate of LAIV use among children younger than 24 months was very low. However, given the strong warning against the use of LAIV in this population and the ease of screening patients’ ages, the observed rate of LAIV use among children younger than 24 months, although low, warranted further scrutiny. A review of the claims for LAIV in children <6 months of age revealed that 92% were submitted with other vaccine claims, raising the possibility of errors in coding of other vaccines. The LAIV CPT code (90660)

is similar to the codes for 2 other vaccines (rotavirus [CPT 90680] and pneumococcal conjugate [CPT 90669]), which are recommended for use at 2 and 4 months of age, and this similarity may have contributed to coding others errors. Multiple routine childhood vaccines are given at every well-child visit for children up to 24 months of age, and it is possible that some of the other 549 LAIV claims (over 2 influenza seasons in children 6–23 months of age) were also the result of coding errors. Although coding errors are rare among claims, a very low rate in a large population (e.g., all children younger than 24 months) will result in a number of falsely recorded vaccinations. Among children 24–59 months of age with a diagnosis of asthma, vaccination with LAIV was relatively rare and substantially less common than vaccination with TIV.