Skip to content
Importance of obtaining and verifying informed consent
Obtaining informed consent is a legal and ethical requirement in healthcare, including vaccination services. It ensures that the patient, parent, or legal guardian has a clear understanding of the benefits, risks, and potential side effects of the vaccine they are about to receive.
In the context of offsite vaccination services, where large numbers of patients may be vaccinated in a short time, ensuring that each patient, parent, or legal guardian has provided informed consent is essential.
The PSI circulated a practice update last week on this issue.
HIQA HTA on enhanced inactivated influenza vaccines show they may be more effective at preventing flu for people aged 65 and older
HIQA conducted a health technology assessment (HTA) regarding enhanced inactivated influenza vaccines administered to individuals aged 65 and older. The assessment indicates that administering enhanced inactivated flu vaccines may be more effective than the standard flu vaccine in preventing cases of flu or flu-related hospitalisation of the outlined cohort.
The assessment also found that some of the enhanced vaccines are associated with a higher risk of certain side effects compared with standard flu vaccines. However, these reactions are usually mild and short-lived.
Overall, the assessment noted that flu vaccines are generally safe and well tolerated, and that serious side effects are rare with both standard and enhanced flu vaccines.
HIQA has advised that the choice of enhanced vaccine and whether such a switch would represent a good use of HSE resources will depend on the price the HSE has to pay relative to the price of a standard flu vaccine. The full report can be read here.
