CDC: Fewer than half of Americans get flu vaccine
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* Rachel Bergman

Despite awareness campaigns and publicized risks, fewer than half of all Americans were vaccinated for the flu last season, according to findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In an online summary report released Sept. 28, CDC analyzed data from the National Immunization Survey-Flu and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to estimate vaccination coverage for the 2016-2017 flu season. Data was collected for people ages 6 months and older, and the report presented monthly coverage rates by age group, sex, race and ethnicity.

At a news conference held the day the report was released, then-U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, MD, said that vaccination coverage has plateaued in recent years. With overall coverage at 46.8 percent last season, many people did not receive a flu shot, despite the recommendations from medical and public health experts that everyone ages 6 months and older get vaccinated, except for rare exceptions.

Vaccination coverage for all age groups, except children under 2, fell below the national target of 70 percent. Among children under 18, coverage was 59 percent, and among adults 18 and older it was 43.3 percent, up 1.6 percent from the prior season. For adults 18-49, vaccination coverage was 33.6 percent, the lowest among any age group. Yet Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said that vaccinations are particularly important among children and seniors, who are more prone to develop severe illness from the flu.

Overall, coverage was higher for females than males in both children and adults, and was higher for women in all adult age groups. Coverage patterns were also different between racial and ethnic groups — for Asians, vaccination coverage was 52.8 percent, compared with 43 percent among blacks. According to Daniel Jernigan, MD, MPH, influenza chief at CDC, disparities between age and racial groups might exist because some people are not used to receiving an annual vaccination.

The report suggested ways that communities can improve vaccination coverage and reduce coverage disparities. Such strategies include expanding access through the use of non-traditional settings — such as workplaces and schools — and reducing patient costs. Additionally, communities should encourage culturally relevant modes of communication and interventions to target populations showing disparities in coverage.

Price, who received his flu vaccination during the news conference, also emphasized the crucial role health care providers can play in increasing coverage rates.

“Your recommendations as…providers are crucial to motivating patients to get vaccinated,” he said. “It’s also important for physicians and other providers to get vaccinated to protect themselves and to protect their patients.”

Also in September, CDC released two new studies detailing last season’s flu vaccination coverage for health workers and pregnant women — two key target groups. Published in *Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report* on Sept. 29, one study found that overall influenza vaccination coverage among health care personnel was 78.6 percent for the 2016-2017 flu season, which was similar to the previous season. Vaccination rates were highest in hospital settings, ambulatory care and clinical settings.

The second study found that 53.6 percent of pregnant women received their flu shot before or during their pregnancy, which was also similar to last season. Because such women were more likely to be vaccinated against the flu when a provider recommended the shot to them, the study said that clinicians should ask about vaccination status at each visit and offer a flu shot to patients.

To read the summary report, visit [www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/cover-age-1617estimates.htm](http://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/cover-age-1617estimates.htm). For the *MMWR* studies, visit [www.cdc.gov/mmwr](http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr).

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association