WAIVE - Western Australian Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Study

The WAIVE study aims to assess the effectiveness of licensed annual influenza vaccines in young children.

The WAIVE study looks at how influenza infection affects young children and their families including social costs such as lost time at work for parents who need to stay home to care for a sick child.

We recruit children aged between 7mths and 5 years who go to the Princess Margaret Hospital Emergency Department, and those admitted to hospital with a fever above 37.5 and an influenza like illness (ILI).

Participants provide 2 nasal swabs (one from each nostril) and parents complete 2 questionnaires about the symptoms experienced by the child, flu symptoms in other family members, duration of illness and lost time from work (parents/caregivers) or daycare (children).

This study is seasonal and usually starts anywhere from June/July and usually winds up in October/November (depending on the flu season).

During the flu season, Vaccine Trials Group has a team of research assistants to recruit participants in the evenings on weekdays and weekends.  They can be identified by their Blue T Shirts with the WAIVE logo on the front.