Regional Disparities in the Uptake of Differentiated Influenza Vaccines in the United States.

Significant racial/ethnic inequities in the uptake of differentiated influenza vaccines (DIVs) have been previously reported, though less is known about regional disparities. We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study (2014/15-2017/18 influenza seasons) among privately insured adults aged 65 + years in the US. The exposure was the beneficiary's area of residence (US Census Bureau division) and the outcome was the type of influenza vaccine: differentiated (high-dose [HDV], adjuvanted, recombinant, and cell-based) versus conventional standard-dose egg-based. Multilevel logistic regression modeling, guided by a causal diagram, was used to assess the influence of socio-demographics, medical, healthcare utilization, community, and vaccinator characteristics in confounding or mediating regional disparities. Among those vaccinated in physician offices, beneficiaries in the East North Central region were twice as likely to receive a DIV vs those in the South Atlantic, whereas those in the East and West South Central were least likely. Disparities became more pronounced in models adjusted for individual and community characteristics, suggesting that crude uptake estimates understate the true magnitude of disparities. A vaccinator's previous HDV use was most influential in explaining regional differences. Similar but less pronounced patterns emerged for vaccinations in pharmacies/facilities. Regional disparities remained even in fully adjusted models, pointing to currently poorly understood factors that may include quality of healthcare, client health literacy and engagement, and other political and cultural factors.

Influenza as an important factor causing increased risk of patients' deaths, excessive morbidity and prolonged hospital stays.

Introduction: Influenza infection is associated with potential serious complications, increased hospitalization rates and a higher risk of death. Material and methods: A retrospective comparative analysis of selected indicators of hospitalization at the University Hospital in Wroclaw was conducted on patients with confirmed influenza infection and a control group during the 2018-2019 influenza season. The threshold for statistical significance of differences between the groups was set at p < 0.05. Results: The types of influenza viruses confirmed in the hospital patients were remarkably similar to those occurring in the general population in Poland. The largest numbers of influenza cases were observed at the departments related to internal medicine where patients with cardiac, lung and renal diseases were hospitalized. The risk of death among the patients with confirmed influenza infection was significantly higher than among the other patients. The highest risk of death was observed among the patients with confirmed influenza infection at the departments related to internal medicine. Considering patients from the entire hospital, the mean length of hospital stay for those with confirmed influenza was 2.13-fold longer than for those in the control group. Comparisons of the median, minimum and maximum lengths of hospitalization between the patients with confirmed influenza infection and the control group reveal even more distinct differences. Conclusions: Significant differences in the selected indicators of hospitalization were observed between the patients with confirmed influenza infection and the control group; they are associated with serious social costs, such as prolonged hospital stay and a higher risk of death during hospitalization in Poland.

High-dose influenza vaccines for the prevention of hospitalization due to cardiovascular events in older adults in the nursing home: Post-hoc analysis of a cluster-randomized trial.

Older adults are at high risk of major acute cardiovascular events (MACE) linked to influenza illness andpreventable by influenza vaccination. It is unknown whether high-dose vaccine might incrementally reduce the risk of MACE.We conducted a post-hoc analysis of data collected from a pragmatic cluster randomized study of 823 nursing homes (NH) randomized to standard-dose (SD) or high-dose (HD) influenza vaccine in the 2013-14 season. Adults age 65 year or older who are Medicare-enrolled long-stay residents were included in the analysis.There were no statistically significant differences in hospitalization for MACE, acute coronary syndromes (ACS), stroke or heart failure between the HD and SD arms. However, in the fee-for-service group, participants in the HD arm had significantly decreased risk of hospitalization for respiratory problems, which was not observed in the Medicare Advantage group.High-dose influenza vaccine was not shown to be incrementally protective against MACE relative to standard-dose vaccine.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding seasonal influenza vaccination during pregnancy in Costa Rica: A mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Influenza increases stillbirth risk, morbidity and mortality in pregnant women. Vaccination protects pregnant women against severe disease and indirectly protects their infants, but coverage among pregnant women remains low worldwide. We aimed to describe knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding seasonal influenza vaccination among postpartum women and prenatal care physicians in Costa Rica. METHODS: We conducted cross-sectional KAP surveys to women one to three days after childbirth at Costa Rican Social Security Fund maternity hospitals, and obstetricians and general practitioners who provided prenatal care in 2017. Principal components analysis, multiple imputation, and logistic regression were used to examine associations between influenza vaccination and demographics, prenatal care, and sources of information-separately for postpartum women and physicians. We also held two focus groups of six healthcare workers each to further describe vaccination KAP. RESULTS: We surveyed 642 postpartum women and 146 physicians in maternity hospitals in five Costa Rican provinces of whom 85.5 % (95 % CI: 82.6 %-88.0 %) and 57.9 % (95 % CI: 49.6 %-65.7 %) were vaccinated for influenza, respectively. Factors associated with influenza vaccination for postpartum women included tetanus vaccination (aOR: 3.62, 95 % CI: 1.89-6.92); received vaccination recommendations from clinicians during prenatal check-ups (aOR: 3.39, 95 % CI: 2.06-5.59); had other children in household vaccinated for influenza (aOR: 2.25, 95 % CI: 1.08-4.68); and secondary/university education (aOR: 0.15-0.31) with no formal education as reference. For postpartum women, reasons for vaccination were perceived benefits for mother and infant, whereas not being offered vaccines was most cited for non-vaccination. Most prenatal care physicians recommended influenza vaccines during prenatal check-ups but believed vaccination causes flu-like symptoms. CONCLUSION: Vaccination campaigns and provisions of free vaccines effectively increased knowledge and coverage among women in Costa Rica. To improve access, women should be offered vaccines during prenatal care appointments. Educating healthcare workers about vaccine benefits for themselves and patients is needed to mitigate safety concerns.

Does Influenza Vaccination Reduce the Risk of Contracting COVID-19?

The concurrent timing of the COVID-19 pandemic and the seasonal occurrence of influenza, makes it especially important to analyze the possible effect of the influenza vaccine on the risk of contracting COVID-19, or in reducing the complications caused by both diseases, especially in vulnerable populations. There is very little scientific information on the possible protective role of the influenza vaccine against the risk of contracting COVID-19, particularly in groups at high-risk of influenza complications. Reducing the risk of contracting COVID-19 in high-risk patients (those with a higher risk of infection, complications, and death) is essential to improve public well-being and to reduce hospital pressure and the collapse of primary health centers. Apart from overlapping in time, COVID-19 and flu share common aspects of transmission, so that measures to protect against flu might be effective in reducing the risk of contracting COVID-19. In this study, we conclude that the risk of contracting COVID-19 is reduced if patients are vaccinated against flu, but the reduction is small (0.22%) and therefore not clinically important. When this reduction is analysed based on the risk factor suffered by the patient, statistically significant differences have been obtained for patients with cardiovascular problems, diabetics, chronic lung and chronic kidney disease; in all four cases the reduction in the risk of contagion does not reach 1%. It is worth highlighting the behaviour that is completely different from the rest of the data for institutionalized patients. The data for these patients does not suggest a reduction in the risk of contagion for patients vaccinated against the flu, but rather the opposite, a significant increase of 6%. Socioeconomic conditions, as measured by the MEDEA deprivation index, explain increases in the risk of contracting COVID-19, and awareness campaigns should be increased to boost vaccination programs.

Cost Effectiveness of Quadrivalent Versus Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccines for the Portuguese Elderly Population.

BACKGROUND: quadrivalent inactivated vaccine (QIV) has replaced trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV). In Portugal, TIV is free of charge for risk groups, including older adults (≥65 years old). In its turn, QIV-which provides broader protection as it includes an additional lineage B strain-was introduced in Portugal in October 2018; only since the 2019/20 influenza season has it been provided free of charge for risk groups. This study evaluates the cost effectiveness of switching from TIV to QIV, from the National Health Service perspective, in the Portuguese elderly mainland population. METHODS: A decision tree model was developed to compare TIV and QIV, based on Portuguese hospitalization data for the 2015/16 influenza season. The primary health economic outcome under consideration was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). In addition, one-way sensitivity analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed. RESULTS: the high cost of QIV (approximately three times the cost of TIV) would lead to a total increment of EUR 5,283,047, and the resulting ICER would be EUR 26,403,007/QALY, above the usual willingness-to-pay threshold. CONCLUSIONS: from the National Health Service perspective, our findings reveal that QIV is not cost effective for the Portuguese elderly population due to the high cost. If the QIV costs were the same as the TIV, then QIV would be cost effective.

Seasonal Influenza and Low Flu Vaccination Coverage as Important Factors Modifying the Costs and Availability of Hospital Services in Poland: A Retrospective Comparative Study.

Introduction: Influenza infection is associated with potential serious complications, increased hospitalization rates, and a higher risk of death. Materials and Methods: A retrospective comparative analysis of selected indicators of hospitalization from the University Hospital in Wroclaw, Poland, was carried out on patients with confirmed influenza infection in comparison to a control group randomly selected from among all other patients hospitalized on the respective wards during the 2018-2019 influenza season. Results: The mean laboratory testing costs for the entire hospital were 3.74-fold higher and the mean imaging test costs were 4.02-fold higher for patients with confirmed influenza than for the control group; the hospital expenses were additionally raised by the cost of antiviral therapy, which is striking when compared against the cost of a single flu vaccine. During the 2018-2019 influenza season, influenza infections among the hospital patients temporarily limited the healthcare service availability in the institution, which resulted in reduced admission rates to the departments related to internal medicine; the mean absence among the hospital staff totaled approximately 7 h per employee, despite 7.3% of the staff having been vaccinated against influenza at the hospital's expense. Conclusions: There were significant differences in the hospitalization indicators between the patients with confirmed influenza and the control group, which markedly increased the hospital care costs in this multi-specialty university hospital.

Barriers and activities to implementing or expanding influenza vaccination programs in low- and middle-income countries: A global survey.

INTRODUCTION: Despite considerable global burden of influenza, few low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have national influenza vaccination programs. This report provides a systematic assessment of barriers to and activities that support initiating or expanding influenza vaccination programs from the perspective of in-country public health officials. METHODS: Public health officials in LMICs were sent a web-based survey to provide information on barriers and activities to initiating, expanding, or maintaining national influenza vaccination programs. The survey primarily included Likert-scale questions asking respondents to rank barriers and activities in five categories. RESULTS: Of 109 eligible countries, 62% participated. Barriers to influenza vaccination programs included lack of data on cost-effectiveness of influenza vaccination programs (87%) and on influenza disease burden (84%), competing health priorities (80%), lack of public perceived risk from influenza (79%), need for better risk communication tools (77%), lack of financial support for influenza vaccine programs (75%), a requirement to use only WHO-prequalified vaccines (62%), and young children require two vaccine doses (60%). Activities for advancing influenza vaccination programs included educating healthcare workers (97%) and decision-makers (91%) on the benefits of influenza vaccination, better estimates of influenza disease burden (91%) and cost of influenza vaccination programs (89%), simplifying vaccine introduction by focusing on selected high-risk groups (82%), developing tools to prioritize target populations (80%), improving availability of influenza diagnostic testing (79%), and developing collaborations with neighboring countries for vaccine procurement (74%) and regulatory approval (73%). Responses varied by country region and income status. CONCLUSIONS: Local governments and key international stakeholders can use the results of this survey to improve influenza vaccination programs in LMICs, which is a critical component of global pandemic preparedness for influenza and other pathogens such as coronaviruses. Additionally, strategies to improve global influenza vaccination coverage should be tailored to country income level and geographic location.

Inclusion of Safety-Related Issues in Economic Evaluations for Seasonal Influenza Vaccines: A Systematic Review.

(1) Background: Vaccines for seasonal influenza are a good preventive and cost-effective strategy. However, it is unknown if and how these economic evaluations include the adverse events following immunization (AEFI), and what the impact of such inclusion is on the health economic outcomes. (2) Methods: We searched the literature, up to January 2020, to identify economic evaluations of seasonal influenza vaccines that considered AEFIs. The review protocol was published in PROSPERO (CDR42017058523). (3) Results: A total of 52 economic evaluations considered AEFI-related parameters in their analyses, reflecting 16% of the economic evaluations on seasonal influenza vaccines in the initial study selection. Most studies used the societal perspective (64%) and evaluated vaccination of children (37%). Where considered, studies included direct medical costs of AEFIs (90%), indirect costs (27%), and disutilities/quality-adjusted life years loss due to AEFIs (37%). The majority of these studies accounted for the effects of the costs of AEFI on cost-effectiveness for Guillain-Barré syndrome. In those papers allowing cost share estimation, direct medical cost of AFEIs was less than 2% of total direct costs. (4) Conclusions: Although the overall impact of AEFIs on the cost-effectiveness outcomes was found to be low, we urge their inclusion in economic evaluations of seasonal influenza vaccines to reflect comprehensive reports for the decision makers and end-users of the vaccination strategies.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome After High-Dose Influenza Vaccine Administration in the United States, 2018-2019 Season.

BACKGROUND: The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) identified a statistical signal for an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in days 1-42 after 2018-2019 high-dose influenza vaccine (IIV3-HD) administration. We evaluated the signal using Medicare. METHODS: We conducted early- and end-of-season claims-based self-controlled risk interval analyses among Medicare beneficiaries ages ≥65 years, using days 8-21 and 1-42 postvaccination as risk windows and days 43-84 as control window. The VSD conducted chart-confirmed analyses. RESULTS: Among 7 453 690 IIV3-HD vaccinations, we did not detect a statistically significant increased GBS risk for either the 8- to 21-day (odds ratio [OR], 1.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99-3.44) or 1- to 42-day (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.78-2.18) risk windows. The findings from the end-of-season analyses were fully consistent with the early-season analyses for both the 8- to 21-day (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 0.92-2.91) and 1- to 42-day (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.70-1.79) risk windows. The VSD's chart-confirmed analysis, involving 646 996 IIV3-HD vaccinations, with 1 case each in the risk and control windows, yielded a relative risk of 1.00 (95% CI, 0.06-15.99). CONCLUSIONS: The Medicare analyses did not exclude an association between IIV3-HD and GBS, but it determined that, if such a risk existed, it was similar in magnitude to prior seasons. Chart-confirmed VSD results did not confirm an increased risk of GBS.

Vacinação contra influenza no enfrentamento da COVID-19: integração ensino-serviço para formação em enfermagem e saúde / Vaccination against influenza in the face of COVID-19: teaching-service integration for training in nursing and health / Vacunación contra influenza en el enfrentamiento de la COVID-19: integración enseñanza-servicio para formación en enfermería y salud

Objetivo: descrever a experiência de integração ensino-serviço durante a primeira etapa da 22ª Campanha Nacional de Vacinação contra a Influenza na emergência da COVID-19. Método: relato de experiência sobre a parceria de um curso de enfermagem de uma das instituições de ensino superior de Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brasil, com serviços da Atenção Primária à Saúde na referida campanha, no período de março a abril de 2020. Resultados: essa parceria mobilizou diversos voluntários para implementar 35 postos volantes de vacinação, incluindo um drive-thru. Nessa primeira etapa, foram aplicadas 91.697 doses do imunobiológico em idosos, de um total de 98.189, que correspondeu a 83,3%, valor muito próximo da cobertura vacinal de 90% esperada para esse grupo populacional. Com a parceria, o número total de doses aplicadas em idosos ao final da 22a campanha, na cidade, superou em 42,6% a média dos últimos cinco anos. Conclusão e implicações para a prática: atribui-se esse percentual ao trabalho coletivo e multiprofissional e ao compromisso social das instituições envolvidas com a proteção da saúde, a preservação da vida e o fortalecimento do Sistema Único de Saúde.

Objective: to describe the experience of teaching-service integration during the first stage of the 22nd Brazilian National Influenza Vaccination Campaign in the emergence of COVID-19. Method: this is an experience report on the partnership of a nursing course from one of the higher education institutions in Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brazil, with Primary Health Care services in that campaign, from March to April 2020. Results: this partnership mobilized several volunteers to implement 35 vaccination stations, including a drive-thru. In this first stage, 91,697 doses of the immunobiological agent were applied to older adults, from a total of 98,189, which corresponded to 83.3%, a value very close to the 90% vaccination coverage expected for this population group. With the partnership, the total number of doses applied to older adults at the end of the 22nd campaign in the city exceeded the average of the last five years by 42.6%. Conclusion and implications for practice: this percentage is attributed to the collective and multiprofessional work and the social commitment of the institutions involved with protection of health, preservation of life and strengthening of the Unified Health System.

Objetivo: describir la experiencia de integración enseñanza-servicio durante la primera etapa de la 22ª Campaña Nacional de Vacunación contra el Influenza en la emergencia de la covid-19. Método: un relato de experiencia de la asociación de un curso de enfermería de una institución de enseñanza superior de Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brasil con servicios de la atención primaria a la salud en la referida campaña, en el período de marzo a abril de 2020. Resultados: esta asociación movilizó a varios voluntarios para implementar 35 estaciones de vacunación, incluyendo un drive-thru. En esa primera etapa, fueron aplicadas 91.697 dosis del inmunobiológico en ancianos, de un total de 98.189, que correspondió a 83,3%, valor muy próximo de la cobertura vacunal de 90% esperada para ese grupo poblacional. Con la asociación, el número total de dosis aplicadas en ancianos al final de la 22a campaña en la ciudad superó en 42,6% el promedio de los últimos cinco años. Conclusión e implicaciones para la práctica: este porcentaje se atribuye al trabajo colectivo e interprofesional y al compromiso social de las instituciones involucradas con la protección de la salud, la preservación de la vida y el fortalecimiento del Sistema Único de Salud.

High-dose influenza vaccination and mortality among predominantly male, white, senior veterans, United States, 2012/13 to 2014/15.

IntroductionIt is unclear whether high-dose influenza vaccine (HD) is more effective at reducing mortality among seniors.AimThis study aimed to evaluate the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of HD. MethodsWe linked electronic medical record databases in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Medicare administrative files to examine the rVE of HD vs standard-dose influenza vaccines (SD) in preventing influenza/pneumonia-associated and cardiorespiratory mortality among VHA-enrolled veterans 65 years or older during the 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15 influenza seasons. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was performed on matched recipients of HD vs SD, based on vaccination time, location, age, sex, ethnicity and VHA priority level. ResultsAmong 569,552 person-seasons of observation, 207,574 (36%) were HD recipients and 361,978 (64%) were SD recipients, predominantly male (99%) and white (82%). Pooling findings from all three seasons, the adjusted rVE estimate of HD vs SD during the high influenza periods was 42% (95% confidence interval (CI): 24-59) against influenza/pneumonia-associated mortality and 27% (95% CI: 23-32) against cardiorespiratory mortality. Residual confounding was evident in both early and late influenza periods despite matching and multivariable adjustment. Excluding individuals with high 1-year predicted mortality at baseline reduced the residual confounding and yielded rVE of 36% (95% CI: 10-62) and 25% (95% CI: 12-38) against influenza/pneumonia-associated and cardiorespiratory mortality, respectively. These were confirmed by results from two-stage residual inclusion estimations.DiscussionThe HD was associated with a lower risk of influenza/pneumonia-associated and cardiorespiratory death in men during the high influenza period.

Relative vaccine efficacy of high-dose versus standard-dose influenza vaccines in preventing probable influenza in a Medicare Fee-for-Service population.

BACKGROUND: High-dose (HD) influenza vaccine, currently the most commonly used vaccine among US seniors (aged ≥ 65 years), has been shown to be more efficacious than standard-dose (SD) vaccine in multiple randomized trials. This study evaluated the real-world relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of HD vs SD over four influenza seasons. METHODS: This study included Medicare Fee-for-Service enrollees who received HD or SD at an outpatient clinic or pharmacy during influenza seasons 2011-2012 through 2014-2015. Probable influenza (an inpatient stay with an influenza diagnosis on the claim, or an outpatient visit with a rapid influenza test/culture followed by an antiviral prescription) was assessed among HD recipients matched 1:1 with SD recipients by location, vaccination date, age, and sex. Fine-Gray subdistribution hazard models with competing risk of death were used to adjust for residual confounding. Analyses were stratified by outpatient vs pharmacy vaccination. RESULTS: Across the four influenza seasons, there were 535,598, 1,017,552, 1,548,164, and 2,420,450 in the pharmacy cohort; and 821,662, 1,151,080, 1,559,488, and 2,421,758 in the outpatient cohort. During peak influenza season, rVEs for 2011-12 through 2014-15 were 21.8% (95% CI: -5.9%, 42.3%), 14.8% (9.3%, 19.9%), 16.9% (9.2%, 23.9%), and 17.2% (14.5%, 19.9%), respectively, in the pharmacy cohort; and 16.5% (-5.9%, 34.2%), 15.1% (10.9%, 19.1%), 10.0% (2.9%, 16.6%), and -0.2% (-3.0%, 2.5%), respectively, in the outpatient cohort. CONCLUSION: HD was consistently associated with better protection against probable influenza. The lower treatment effect observed in the outpatient cohort could reflect provider bias due to physicians triaging HD to frailer patients.

Influenza vaccine uptake among older adults in Brazil: Socioeconomic equality and the role of preventive policies and public services.

BACKGROUND: Influenza is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Since 1999, influenza vaccine is provided free-of-charge to adults aged 60 years or more in Brazil. Although vaccination coverage is high, previous studies have shown that socioeconomic and lifestyle factors play an essential role in predicting vaccine uptake. This study aimed to investigate whether previous knowledge of factors that constrain influenza vaccine uptake among older adults contributed to increasing the access to vaccination in 2015-16. METHODS: This cross-sectional study assessed data from the baseline of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging. This national representative sample encompassed individuals aged 60 and older (n=5221). Vaccination status was the outcome variable; covariates included socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics, health status, and access to healthcare. Logistic regression fitted the association between vaccine uptake and covariates. RESULTS: The coverage of influenza vaccination was 73.0% (95% confidence interval: 70.6-75.2); ranking lower than the goal of 80% set up by the national health authority. The most frequent reasons to justify the option of skipping vaccination were cultural beliefs about the lack of efficacy and possible side effects of the vaccine. The coverage of vaccination did not differ by socioeconomic characteristics. Older individuals, never smokers, having two or more chronic diseases, and being registered in the Family Health Program were positively associated with influenza vaccine uptake. CONCLUSIONS: Absent socioeconomic inequalities point out changes in the barriers to vaccination. These findings provide insights into tailoring public health strategies, targeting professional recommendations and public perceptions of the vaccine.

Patient characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries who report not getting influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations, 2001-2013.

Background: Despite long standing recommendations of pneumococcal and influenza vaccination for adults age 65 years and older and wide-spread availability to vaccination services, vaccination coverage in the United states is low. We sought to explore reasons patients reportedly did not receive these vaccines.Methods: We used publicly available data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, a continuous panel survey of a representative sample of the Medicare population, as well as Medicare enrollment data. We explored questions pertaining to influenza and pneumococcal vaccination status, self-reported reasons for being unvaccinated and patient perspectives toward health care utilization.Results: The majority of the respondents who did not receive vaccines for influenza or pneumococcal disease reported that they did not know it was needed or that their doctor did not recommend it. Respondents who were not vaccinated against influenza reported concerns about side effects. Coverage for both vaccines was lower among respondents in the Southeast region and among those who are dual-eligible or less engaged in healthcare utilization. Little difference was observed by gender, urban status, or Part C enrollment for influenza respondents. Higher pneumococcal vaccine coverage was found among females as well as those living in urban settings or enrolled in Medicare Part C.Conclusions: Implementation of the national guidelines calling for all health care professions - whether they provide vaccinations or not - to take steps to help ensure adults are fully immunized is critical. Tailored communication to beneficiaries that addresses the importance of both vaccines as well as key barriers, like side effects, is also needed.

Mass media coverage and influenza vaccine uptake.

BACKGROUND: Despite the high risk and economic burden of influenza-related diseases, about one-third of adults aged 65 and older still forego annual influenza vaccination. Mass media, as a leading source of health information for the public, can influence and promote health behaviors, such as vaccination. However, empirical evidence on the effect of media coverage on influenza vaccination uptake remains limited. OBJECTIVE: We examine the impact of media coverage by month on influenza vaccination among the elderly. METHODS: This study exploits variation in the number of influenza-related news reports by month and across seasons and examines its impact on vaccine uptake in a linear probability model with state fixed effects and seasonable random effects. We combine individual-level influenza vaccination data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System(BRFSS), 2010-2017, and media coverage data from the NewsBank database along with several other data sources including weather data from the Global Historical Climatology Network and data on the influenza season from FluView from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RESULTS: Our main results indicate every 100 additional media reports about influenza published in October were associated with an increase in the vaccination uptake rate among those aged 65+ of 0.3 percentage points. This association holds in January, but not in November or December. It was more pronounced in late-peak seasons and in seasons where the vaccine was highly effective. CONCLUSION: This study provides suggestive evidence that variation in the number of media reports is associated with variation in influenza vaccination uptake.

[Cost-effective analysis of seasonal influenza vaccine in elderly Chinese population].

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccination, compared to no vaccination, for the elderly aged ≥60 years old in China. Methods: A static life-time Markov model is conducted to simulate the Chinese elderly population aged ≥60 years old. Taking the health care system perspective, one-year analytic cycle length is used for each influenza season. The model was assumed to be repeated until the individual reaches 100 years old. Three interventions were evaluated, including no vaccination, annual trivalent influenza vaccination, and annual quadrivalent influenza vaccination. Using the threshold of 3 times GDP per capita per Quality-adjusted life year (QALY) (193 932/QALY), the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated to compare the cost-effectiveness of every two interventions.Model inputs like data for costs and utilities were from studies on Chinese population if they were available. QALY was used to measure health utility. One-way sensitivity analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were adopted to quantify the level of confidence of the model output. Results: The total influenza associated costs of no vaccination would be 603 CNY per person, while the total costs of annual trivalent vaccination would be 1 027 CNY. Using trivalent vaccine would result in 0.007 QALY gained per person compared to no vaccination, with an increased cost of 424 CNY per person. The ICER of trivalent vaccination over no vaccination for all the elderly population in China would be 64 026 CNY per QALY gained, which was less than the threshold of 3 times GDP per capita. The total costs of annual quadrivalent vaccination would be 1 988 CNY. Using quadrivalent vaccine would result in 0.008 additional QALY gained per person compared to no vaccination, with an increased cost of 1 385 CNY per person. The ICER of quadrivalent vaccination over no vaccination would be 174 081 CNY per QALY gained, which was less than the threshold of 3 times GDP per capita. Conclusion: Vaccinating elderly population would improve health utilities at higher health care costs for the elderly. Using the threshold of 3 times GDP per capita per QALY (193 932/QALY), both trivalent and quadrivalent vaccination would be cost-effective compared to no vaccination in elderly Chinese population.

[Cost-effectiveness of potential government fully-funded influenza vaccination in population with diabetes in China].

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of potential government fully-funded influenza vaccination for diabetics in our country. Methods: From the societal perspective, a decision tree model was developed to compare outcomes (including impact on the influenza-related outpatient consultation, hospitalization and excess mortality, and quality-adjusted life years (QALY), as well as incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER)) of a national fully-funded vaccination programme in the population with diabetes and status quo (i.e., vaccinated with out-of-pocket payment, with a uptake rate of zero), using the published data with regarding to influenza related ILI (influenza-like illness) consultation rate, hospitalization rate and excess mortality rate, health-related quality of life and economic burden, diabetes prevalence, population size, health seeking behaviour, vaccine uptake rate, vaccine efficacy/effectiveness, etc. A time horizon of 1 year was used in the present analysis, and all costs were expressed in CNY in 2016 using the consumer price index. All results are presented in M (P(25), P(75)). Results: In the scenario of 40% vaccination coverage in the population with diabetes, government fully-funded vaccination programme was estimated to cost 1.71 (1.67, 1.75) billions CNY, and expected to prevent 110 000 (81 000, 143 000) influenza-related ILI consultations, 36 000 (28 000, 44 000) influenza-related SARI hospitalizations and 12 000 (9 000, 16 000) influenza-related deaths due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. A total of 108 000 (82 000, 142 000) QALY were estimated to be gained. The ICER was 10 088 (7 365, 14 046) CNY per QALY gained. The probability of cost-effectiveness of the fully-funded vaccination programme was 99.1% at a threshold of 53 680 CNY per QALY gained (GDP per capita in 2016). Conclusion: Government fully-funded influenza vaccination in population with diabetes is cost-effective, and thus is recommended as the key strategy of diabetes prevention and control.

Influenza vaccination effectiveness for people aged under 65 years in Japan, 2013/2014 season: application of a doubly robust method to a large-scale, real-world dataset.

BACKGROUND: Influenza vaccination is recognized as a primary public health intervention which prevents the illness of patients and relieves the societal burdens of influenza for medical community as well as the economy. To date, no effectiveness study of influenza vaccination has been conducted including a large population with a wide age span, in Japan. Here, we evaluated the clinical effectiveness of influenza vaccination in a large Japanese population. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study using a large-scale claims database for employee health care insurance plans. Vaccination status was identified using plan records for influenza vaccination subsidies. We excluded people aged 65 years or more because of the unavailability of vaccination records. Effectiveness of vaccination in preventing influenza and its complication was evaluated with doubly robust methods using inversed probability treatment weighting to adjust health conscious behaviours and other confounders. RESULTS: During the 2013/2014 influenza season, 369,425 subjects with age range from 1 to 64 years were eligible. Vaccination rate was 39.5% and an estimated odds ratio (OR) for influenza onset was 0.775 after doubly robust adjustment. Age-stratified ORs were significantly reduced in all age groups; lowest in subjects aged 1 to 4 years (0.600) and highest in those aged 13 to 19 (0.938). ORs for all the influenza complication outcomes were also statistically significant (0.403-0.709). CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed the clinical effectiveness of influenza vaccination in people aged 1 to 64 years. Influenza vaccination significantly prevented influenza onset and was more effective in reducing secondary risks of influenza complications.