Predictors of Influenza Vaccination in an Urban Community during a National Shortage

Abstract: Little is known about the impact of vaccine shortages on vaccination rates among disadvantaged populations in the United States. We compared factors associated with influenza vaccination rates during a vaccine shortage (2004–2005) and a non-shortage (2003–2004) year among adults in predominantly minority New York City neighborhoods. Thirty-one percent of participants received influenza vaccine during the non-shortage year compared with 18 % during the shortage. While fewer people received the influenza vaccine during the shortage, a higher proportion of the vaccinated were in a high-risk group (68% vs. 52%, respectively). People were less likely to have been vaccinated during the shortage if they were Black. This study suggests that vaccination rates were lower during the shortage period among Blacks and those who are not explicitly a focus of national vaccination out-reach campaigns. Such groups are less likely to be vaccinated when vaccines are scarce. Key words: Influenza, vaccination, hard-to-reach populations, urban, disadvantaged. On October 5, 2004, Chiron Corporation notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that none of its inactivated influenza vaccine would be available for distribution in the United States for the 2004–2005 influenza season. At that time, the CDC, in coordination with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), issued interim recommendations to direct available inactivated influenza vaccine to high-risk individuals.1 This was the second time in recent years that a delay in the distribution of influenza vaccine would result in a call for voluntary Erica PhilliPs-caEsar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Weill Medica