When Is the Ideal Time to Recommend Routine Vaccines?

Annual influenza vaccination campaigns could present opportunities to increase awareness of the need for other adult vaccinations as well, especially between September and November when the majority of influenza vaccinations occur, according to new research.

These findings emerged from a new study performed by Angela K. Shen, ScD, MPH, senior science policy advisor at the National Vaccine Program Office of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and colleagues. For their study, they evaluated administrative claims data of 31 million Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries who received vaccinations between 2013 and 2015.

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Ultimately, more than 50 million influenza vaccination claims were made between 2013 and 2015. Results of the study indicated that 88% of these claims occurred in September, October, and November.

Notably, insurance claims for pneumococcal (42%), herpes zoster (36%), and tetanus-containing (32%) vaccinations were also found to be concentrated during these months.

The researchers noted that the concentration for pneumococcal vaccinations occurred in various settings—including traditional doctor’s offices, pharmacies, and hospitals—whereas 92% of herpes zoster vaccines and 72% of tetanus-containing vaccines were primarily administered in pharmacy settings.

“Annual influenza vaccination efforts offer additional opportunities to assess, recommend, and administer other recommended vaccinations,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Shen AK, Warnock R, Chu S, Kelman JA. Receipt of other routinely recommended vaccines relative to receipt of seasonal influenza vaccines: Trends from medicare administrative data, 2013–2015 [Published online June 13, 2018]. Vaccine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.06.020