Coverage in health care personnel and pregnant women remained stable versus previous season
THURSDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Influenza vaccination coverage among health care personnel (HCP) and pregnant women in the 2010/2011 influenza season was similar to coverage for the 2009/2010 season, according to two reports in the Aug. 19 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
To assess influenza vaccination coverage for the 2010/2011 influenza season among HCP in the United States, the CDC conducted an Internet-based survey of 1,931 HCP who participated in three online survey panels. The report revealed that overall influenza vaccination coverage among HCP was 63.5 percent during the 2010/2011 influenza season, similar to coverage for the 2009/2010 season. The report also revealed that 98.1 percent of HCP who reported working at a facility where their employer required vaccination were vaccinated. Among HCP without such an employer requirement but who were offered vaccination onsite, the report revealed that greater coverage was associated with a personal reminder from the employer to get vaccinated (69.9 percent), vaccination availability at no cost (67.9 percent), and vaccination availability for less than one day (68.8 percent).
In another report, the CDC evaluated data from an Internet panel survey conducted in April 2011 among women who were pregnant any time between October 2010 and January 2011 to estimate influenza vaccination coverage among pregnant women for the 2010/2011 season. Among 1,457 women, the report revealed 49 percent reported that they had received influenza vaccination, including 12 percent who were vaccinated before pregnancy, 32 percent during pregnancy, and 5 percent after pregnancy. Women offered influenza vaccination by a health care provider (62 percent) were more likely to be vaccinated (71 percent) as compared to other women (14 percent). In addition, women offered the vaccine by a health care provider were more likely to have positive attitudes about vaccine effectiveness and safety.
"These results indicate that the higher vaccination level achieved the previous season (2009/2010) was sustained and emphasize the critical role of health care providers in promoting influenza vaccination," write the authors of the second report.
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