Melchinger Hannah, Belgaumi Sameer M, Ahmed Noureen, Omer Saad B, Malik Amyn A
Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025 Jul 16;5(7):e0004756. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004756. eCollection 2025.
Influenza vaccines are essential against the spread of influenza virus. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccination to all eligible individuals over 6 months of age; however, uptake remains suboptimal nationally. We do not fully understand the current nuances of influenza vaccine uptake, nor how it has been affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. From 2020-2024, we conducted two distinct, cross-sectional surveys assessing influenza vaccine uptake among US adults. A census-matched national sample was recruited by online survey company CloudResearch, and respondents were asked whether they had or planned to receive the influenza vaccine. Analyses were stratified by demographic and weighted according to age, sex, and race estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2022. We found that overall uptake decreased, with significant declines among demographic groups usually associated with higher vaccine uptake. Compared to 2022, individuals who were older (11% decrease), male (13%), White (7%), non-Hispanic (5%), or more educated (16%) were significantly less likely to receive the influenza vaccine in 2024. Changes in attitudes and intentions towards vaccination during and since the COVID-19 pandemic have been associated with several factors, including changes in perceived risk and the rise of vaccine-related mis- and disinformation. Targeted behavioral interventions can be used to shift attitudes, intentions, and eventually, behaviors, towards health-seeking behaviors like vaccination. We must target these demographics with evidence-based behavioral interventions to improve uptake of influenza vaccination.
流感疫苗对于预防流感病毒传播至关重要。在美国，疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）建议所有6个月以上符合条件的人接种疫苗；然而，全国范围内的疫苗接种率仍不理想。我们尚未完全了解当前流感疫苗接种的细微差别，也不清楚2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行对其产生了怎样的影响。在2020年至2024年期间，我们开展了两项不同的横断面调查，评估美国成年人的流感疫苗接种情况。在线调查公司CloudResearch招募了一个与人口普查匹配的全国样本，并询问受访者是否已经接种或计划接种流感疫苗。分析按人口统计学特征分层，并根据2022年美国社区调查（ACS）的年龄、性别和种族估计值进行加权。我们发现总体接种率下降，通常与较高疫苗接种率相关的人口群体出现了显著下降。与2022年相比，2024年年龄较大（下降11%）、男性（13%）、白人（7%）、非西班牙裔（5%）或受教育程度较高（16%）的人接种流感疫苗的可能性显著降低。在COVID-19大流行期间及之后，人们对疫苗接种的态度和意愿发生了变化，这与几个因素有关，包括感知风险的变化以及疫苗相关错误信息和虚假信息的增加。有针对性的行为干预措施可用于改变态度、意愿，并最终改变行为，使其朝着诸如接种疫苗等寻求健康的行为转变。我们必须针对这些人口群体采取基于证据的行为干预措施，以提高流感疫苗的接种率。
