Stock vaccines made from the influenza bacillus alone or from other
bacteria, have been used to considerable extent. The injections of stock
vaccines have seemed to mitigate to some degree some outbreaks of
influenza and also the severity of the complicating infections; but in
those instances in which the results of the use of vaccine have been
controlled, no appreciable results have been obtained. The fact that the
vaccine is usually employed after the epidemic has broken out and is
perhaps on a decline, and the fact that an unknown number of people have
been exposed, make it very difficult to draw conclusions as to its
efficacy.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
Your committee recommends that until such time as the efficacy, or the
lack of efficacy, of prophylactic vaccination against influenza is
established, vaccine if used, should be employed in a controlled manner,
under conditions that will allow a fair comparison of the number of
cases and of deaths among the vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups.
Particular attention should be directed to securing data as to the
period in the epidemic at which vaccinated and non-vaccinated persons
developed the disease.
Your committee is of the opinion that the indiscriminate use of stock
vaccines against influenza and influenza and pneumonia cannot be
recommended.
Nothing in these recommendations should be interpreted as discouraging
the use of a pneumococcus stock vaccine against lobar pneumonia.
This epidemic emphasizes the importance of properly equipped
laboratories.
HISTORY AND STATISTICS OF THE EPIDEMIC.
Your sub-committee wishes to say that in view of the fact that the
historical and other data of the epidemic are still in process of
collection, no positive statement can be made at the present time on the
precise incidence of the disease in the American population. On the
basis of the best data available your sub-committee estimates that there
were not less than 400,000 deaths from the disease in the United States
during the months of September, October and November, 1918. The major
portion of this mortality occurred at ages 20–40, when human life is of
the highest economic importance. We would suggest that this
sub-committee be authorized to co-operate with the special committee on
statistical study of the epidemic of the section on Vital Statistics of
this Association, and that the data collected through that latter
special committee be reported through the sub-committee on history and
statistics of the epidemic to the general reference committee on the
influenza epidemic. Standard forms for purposes of statistical
tabulation, analysis and graphic presentation will be submitted in a
supplementary report at an early date.
SUGGESTIONS.
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