US adults who get vaccinated in opposition to the flu yearly have been 24.7% extra more likely to full a major COVID-19 vaccine routine than those that by no means obtained the flu vaccine, finds a study yesterday in JAMA Community Open.
Rand Corp. researchers used their American Life Panel, a likelihood pattern of US adults, to investigate self-reported flu vaccine uptake within the 2009 to 2017, 2019-20 (largely prepandemic), and 2021-22 (pandemic) flu seasons. The group additionally evaluated COVID-19 vaccine standing through the latter two seasons.
Of 1,366 survey respondents, 85% have been White, 11% have been Hispanic, 7% have been Black, and a couple of% have been Asian. Common age was 56 years.
Amongst 358 contributors who all the time obtained the flu vaccine by means of 2017, 81.4% to 92.2% nonetheless did so two to 4 seasons later. However of 642 respondents who by no means obtained the flu vaccine, solely 20.3% obtained it in 2019 to 2020, rising to 23.5% through the pandemic. Those that all the time received the flu shot have been 24.7% extra more likely to be vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19 than those that by no means did so.
COVID-19 vaccination was 50% extra widespread in respondents vaccinated in opposition to the flu in 2021-22 (90.8% of 944 vs 60.9% of 723; threat ratio [RR], 1.50). And flu vaccine uptake in 2021-22 was 230% larger amongst COVID-vaccinated contributors (57.1% of 1,025 vs 17.3% of 341; RR, 3.30).
COVID-19 vaccinees have been more likely to obtain the flu vaccine in 2022 after not receiving it in 2020 (odds ratio [OR], 12.82). Recipients of each vaccines had larger instructional attainment, whereas Democrats have been extra doubtless than Republicans to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine (OR, 4.43) however to not swap from not receiving to receiving the flu vaccine.
“Most strikingly, amongst people who traditionally by no means received the influenza vaccine, these receiving COVID-19 vaccine have been considerably extra more likely to swap towards getting the influenza vaccine,” the authors wrote. “This implies that investing in vaccine acceptance has payoffs past the vaccine itself.”
