HINES, IL — A new VA study sought to determine whether acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine might have influenced update of annual influenza vaccination.
“Vaccine hesitancy remains an obstacle in disease prevention,” wrote researchers from the 1Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, IL. “The recent COVID-19 pandemic highlighted this issue and may influence acceptance of other recommended immunizations.”
The researchers sought to determine whether there was any association between receiving the COVID-19 vaccination and the subsequent acceptance of the influenza vaccination in a veteran population that historically has declined influenza vaccination. Results were published in the journal Vaccine.1
To find out, the study team compared Influenza vaccination acceptance rates for the 2021-2022 influenza season in patients who historically declined it and either received or declined COVID-19 vaccinations. Results indicated that a higher proportion of patients who had received the COVID-19 vaccination(s) subsequently accepted the influenza vaccination compared to the control group (37% vs. 11%, OR = 5.03; CI 3.15-8.26; p = 0.0001).
“Among previous influenza vaccine decliners, those who received COVID-19 vaccination had significantly higher odds of receiving subsequent influenza vaccination,” the researchers concluded.
- Patel UC, Schultz T, Schmidt J. Veteran influenza vaccination acceptance rates after completion of the COVID-19 vaccination series among historical influenza vaccine refusers. Vaccine. 2023 Jul 3:S0264-410X(23)00803-4. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.06.090. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37414694.