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• Rural children had lower influenza vaccination coverage. • Rural disparities in child influenza vaccination coverage were consistent over time. • Rural children had lower influenza vaccination coverage across demographics. • Interaction between rural status and race was significant in adjusted analysis. Influenza vaccination is the primary way to prevent influenza, yet influenza vaccination coverage remains low in the United States. Previous studies have shown that children residing in rural areas have less access to healthcare and lower vaccination coverage for some vaccines. Influenza vaccination coverage among children 6 months–17 years by rural/urban residence during the 2011–12 through 2018–19 influenza seasons was examined using National Immunization Survey-Flu data. The Council of American Survey Research Organizations response rates for National Immunization Survey-Flu ranged from 48% to 65% (2011–12 through the 2017–18 seasons) for the landline sample and 20%–39% (2011–12 through the 2018–19 seasons) for the cellular telephone sample. Children residing in rural areas had influenza vaccination coverage that ranged from 7.9 (2012–13 season) to 12.6 (2016–17 season) percentage points lower than children residing in urban areas, and ranged from 4.5 (2012–13 season) to 7.4 (2016–17 season) percentage points lower than children residing in suburban areas. The differences in influenza vaccination coverage among rural, suburban, and urban children were consistent over the eight seasons studied. Lower influenza vaccination coverage was observed among rural children regardless of child's age, mother's education, household income, or number of children under 18 years of age in the household. Rural versus urban and suburban differences in influenza vaccination coverage remained statistically significant while adjusting for selected sociodemographic characteristics. A better understanding of the reasons for lower childhood influenza vaccination coverage for children in rural and suburban areas is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective was to compare estimates of childhood influenza vaccination across 7 consecutive influenza seasons based on 2 survey systems. Methods: We analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the National Immunization Survey–Flu (NIS-Flu) using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to estimate receipt, based on parental report, of at least 1 dose of influenza vaccine among children aged 6 months to 17 years. Results: We found no significant increasing trend in influenza vaccination coverage among children overall from 2012 to 2018 based on the NHIS or from 2012 to 2019 based on the NIS-Flu. We found 4 seasons with a significant increase in influenza vaccination coverage compared with the previous season (2012-2013 [NHIS, NIS-Flu], 2013-2014 [NIS-Flu], 2017-2018 [NHIS], and 2018-2019 [NIS-Flu]). As of the 2018-2019 season, based on NIS-Flu, influenza vaccination coverage was only 62.6%. Children with health conditions that put them at increased risk for complications from influenza had higher influenza vaccination coverage than children without these health conditions for all the seasons studied except 2014-2015. For all seasons studied, influenza vaccination coverage estimates for children were higher based on NIS-Flu data compared with NHIS data. Trends across seasons and differences in vaccination coverage between age groups were similar between the 2 surveys. Conclusions: Influenza vaccination coverage among children appears to have plateaued. Only about half of the children in the United States were vaccinated against influenza. Improvements in measurement of influenza vaccination and development and review of strategies to increase childhood influenza vaccination coverage are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Patient reminders are recommended to increase vaccination rates. The objectives of this study were to estimate the percentage of children 6 months–17 years for whom a patient reminder for influenza vaccination was received by a child's parent or guardian, estimate influenza vaccination coverage by receipt of a patient reminder, and identify factors associated with receipt of a patient reminder. Methods National Immunization Survey-Flu (NIS-Flu) data for the 2013–14 influenza season were analyzed. Tests of association between patient reminders and demographic characteristics were conducted using Wald chi-square tests and pairwise comparison t-tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine variables independently associated with receiving a patient reminder. Results Approximately 22% of children had a parent or guardian report receiving a patient reminder for influenza vaccination for their child, ranging from 12.9% in Idaho to 41.2% in Mississippi. Children with a patient reminder were more likely to be vaccinated compared with children without a patient reminder (73.7% versus 55.5%). In the multivariable model, reminder receipt was higher for children 6–23 months compared with children 13–17 years, black children compared with white children, and children whose parent completed the survey in English compared with children whose parent completed the survey in a language other than English or Spanish. Conclusions Although patient reminders are associated with a higher likelihood of influenza vaccination, nationally, less than one-fourth of children had a parent report receiving one. Despite being based on parental report, with its limitations, this study suggests that increasing the number of parents who receive patient reminders for their children may improve vaccination coverage among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives To determine the proportion of children whose parents prefer them to receive live, attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) or inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV), examine reasons for preferences, and determine what percentage of vaccinated children receive other than the preferred type of vaccine and why. Methods Parental-reported data for the 2014–15 and 2015–16 influenza seasons from the National Immunization Survey-Flu (NIS-Flu), a random-digit-dialed, dual frame (landline and cellular telephone) survey of households with children, were analyzed. We calculated the proportions of vaccinated children aged 2–17 years whose parents preferred LAIV, IIV, or had no preference, and the proportions that were vaccinated with other than the preferred type of vaccine. Results For the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons, 55.2% and 53.7%, respectively, of vaccinated children had parents who reported no preference for either IIV or LAIV. The percentage who preferred LAIV was 22.7% and 21.7%, and IIV was 22.1% and 24.7%. The most common reason given by parents for preferring LAIV was the child's fear of needles (70.9%) and for preferring IIV was belief that the shot is more effective (29.0%). Approximately one-third of vaccinated children whose parents preferred LAIV received IIV only. Conclusions The main finding of this study was that most parents do not have a vaccine type preference for their children. The lack of overwhelming preference is advantageous for the maintenance of vaccination coverage levels during times when one vaccine type is not available or not recommended such as in the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons when there was a temporary recommendation not to administer LAIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Influenza vaccination coverage in the United States remains below national targets and racial/ethnic differences persist. Objectives To gain insights into potential strategies for improving influenza vaccination by examining reasons given for not receiving an influenza vaccination during the 2011–12 influenza season. Methods Data from the National Flu Survey were analyzed for the 2011–12 influenza season. Tests of association between reasons for non-vaccination and demographic variables were conducted using Wald chi-square tests. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine variables independently associated with each reason for non-vaccination. Results For adults and children, there were no racial/ethnic differences in the overall most frequent reason for non-vaccination: “unlikely to get very sick from the flu”. Regarding adults, there were racial/ethnic differences in seven of the twelve reasons for non-vaccination in bivariate analyses, but only three remained significant in the multivariable models. Most notable of these was that blacks (40.9%) were more likely than Hispanics (27.0%), whites (25.2%), and adults of other/multiple races (21.2%) to report concerns about getting the flu from the vaccination and blacks (39.8%) were more likely than whites (28.4%) and adults of other/multiple races (29.3%) to report concerns about side effects from the vaccine. Regarding children, there were racial/ethnic differences for three of the reasons for non-vaccination, and these remained significant in the multivariable models. The most noteworthy of these was that more black (44.4%) than white (24.0%) and other/multiple race (19.0%) parents had concerns about their child getting the flu from the vaccination. Other demographic variables (age, gender income, MSA for adults and age and income for children) were also associated with reasons for non-vaccination based on the multivariable models. Conclusions There are racial/ethnic group differences in reasons for not receiving an influenza vaccination; recognition of these differences should guide the choice of interventions to increase vaccination rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Influenza vaccines available for children in the United States include inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) and live, attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV). Objectives of this study were to quantify proportions of IIV and LAIV received by vaccinated children, and examine associations between vaccine type received and demographic characteristics. Methods National Immunization Survey-Flu (NIS-Flu) parental reported data for the 2011−12 through 2013−14 influenza seasons were used to estimate proportions of vaccinated children 2−17 years who received IIV and LAIV. Tests of association between vaccination type and demographic variables were conducted using Wald chi-square tests and pair-wise comparison t -tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine variables independently associated with receipt of LAIV versus IIV. Results In the 2013−14 season, 33.3% of vaccinated children received LAIV, similar to the proportion in the 2011−12 (32.2%) and 2012−13 (32.1%) seasons. Across all seasons studied, the strongest observed association was between vaccination type and child's age, with children 2−8 years (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio (95% confidence interval) [APR(95% CI)] 1.41(1.27−1.56), 1.46(1.34−1.59), and 1.50(1.38−1.63) for 2011−12, 2012−13, and 2013−14) and 9−12 years (APR(95% CI) 1.37(1.23−1.54), 1.38(1.26−1.51), and 1.50(1.38−1.63) for 2011−12, 2012−13, and 2013−14) being more likely to have received LAIV than children 13−17 years. Among those vaccinated, whites were more likely to have received LAIV compared with blacks (APR(95% CI) 1.19(1.05−1.35), 1.24(1.10−1.39), and 1.22(1.11−1.34) for 2011−12, 2012−13, and 2013−14), and children living above poverty (annual income >$75,000) were more likely to have received LAIV than those living at or below poverty (APR(95% CI) 1.43(1.23−1.67), 1.13(1.02−1.26), and 1.16(1.06−1.28) for 2011−12, 2012−13, and 2013−14). Conclusions This study provides a baseline of the extent and patterns of LAIV uptake that can be used to measure the impact of relevant public health policy. Additional research is needed to investigate parental and provider preferences and barriers regarding LAIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Between 2011 and 2019, influenza vaccination coverage among US outpatients was ~55%. • Influenza vaccination coverage was lower than national targets of 70%. • Coverage was highest among adults older than 65 years and children aged <5 years. • Coverage was lowest among persons aged 13–49 years. In the United States (U.S.), annual influenza vaccination has been recommended for all persons aged ≥6 months with the Healthy People 2020 coverage target of 70%. However, vaccination coverage has remained around 42–49% during the past eight influenza seasons. We sought to quantify influenza vaccination coverage and factors associated with vaccination in persons seeking outpatient medical care for an acute respiratory illness (ARI). We enrolled outpatients aged ≥6 months with ARI from >50 U.S. clinics from 2011 to 2012 through 2018–2019 influenza seasons and tested for influenza with molecular assays. Vaccination status was based on documented receipt of the current season's influenza vaccine. We estimated vaccination coverage among influenza-negative study participants by study site, age, and season, and compared to state-level influenza coverage estimates in the general population based on annual immunization surveys. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine factors independently associated with receipt of influenza vaccines. We enrolled 45,424 study participants with ARI who tested negative for influenza during the study period. Annual vaccination coverage among influenza-negative ARI patients and the general population in the participating states averaged 55% (range: 47–62%), and 52% (range: 46–54%), respectively. Among enrollees, coverage was highest among adults aged ≥65 years (82%; range, 80–85%) and lowest among adolescents aged 13–17 years (38%; range, 35–41%). Factors significantly associated with non-vaccination included non-White race, no college degree, exposure to cigarette smoke, absence of high-risk conditions, and not receiving prior season influenza vaccine. Influenza vaccination coverage over eight seasons among outpatients with non-influenza respiratory illness was slightly higher than coverage in the general population but 15% lower than national targets. Increased efforts to promote vaccination especially in groups with lower coverage are warranted to attain optimal health benefits of influenza vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]