Am J Prev Med

BackgroundReducing racial/ethnic disparities in immunization rates is a compelling public health goal. Disparities in childhood vaccination rates have been absent in recent years for most vaccines.PurposeThe objective of this study is to assess adult vaccination by race/ethnicity in the United States.MethodsThe 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was analyzed in 2014 to assess adult vaccination by race/ethnicity for six vaccines routinely recommended for adults: The vaccines are: influenza, Tetanus, pneumococcal, human papilloma virus, and zoster vaccines. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with all adult vaccinations.ResultsVaccination coverage was significantly lower among non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic Asians compared with non-Hispanic whites, with only a few exceptions. Age, sex, education, health insurance, usual place of care, number of physician visits in the past 12 months, and health insurance were independently associated with receipt of most of the vaccines examined. Racial/ethnic differences narrowed, but gaps remained after taking these factors into account.ConclusionsRacial and ethnic differences in vaccination levels narrow when adjusting for socioeconomic factors analyzed in this survey, but are not eliminated, suggesting that other factors that associated with vaccination disparities were not measured by the NHIS and could also contribute to the differences in coverage. Additional efforts including systems changes to ensure routine assessment and recommendations for needed vaccination among adults for all racial/ethnic groups are essential for improving vaccine coverage.20152018-02-23T00:00:00ZCC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States26297451PMC5824643868