Increased seasonal influenza vaccination coverage in the US during the pandemic 2009-10Archived
Increased seasonal influenza vaccination coverage in the US during the pandemic 2009-10
MMWR; April 30th 2010; 59(16); 477-484
This report is a description of the seasonal influenza vaccination coverage in the US during the season 2009-10. In October 2009, the distribution of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) monovalent vaccine was added to the ongoing distribution of the seasonal influenza vaccine that started the previous August. The risk groups recommended for taking the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) vaccine were different from, but overlapped with those recommended for taking seasonal vaccine. For this unusual season, coverage for seasonal vaccination of children aged 6 months to 17 years (40%) was higher than coverage estimates for the previous season (ranging from 24% to 30%). Coverage for healthy adults aged 18 to 49 years also was moderately higher. These higher coverage levels for 2009-10 might reflect increased awareness of the seriousness of influenza associated with the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic. Higher coverage in children also might reflect the first full year of expansion of ACIP recommendations for all children aged 6 months to 18 years to receive annual influenza immunization. This report also mentions that, despite increased attention to influenza during the autumn of 2009, no significant increase in coverage occurred among those aged 18 to 49 years with high-risk conditions, underscoring the challenges associated with increasing coverage in this group.
