Needs assessment of influenza and pneumococcal immunization in Allegheny County

Despite being vaccine preventable, influenza and pneumonia annually result in over 200,000 hospitalizations and greater than 5,000 deaths respectively in the United States. Thus the importance of the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, and the need for better, targeted vaccine coverage is of public health importance. Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination are included in the CDC’s Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The Allegheny County Health Survey (ACHS) is a local adaptation of the BRFSS and has provided the opportunity to conduct an introductory needs assessment of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination coverage and gaps in adults over 18 years of age. Analysis of data collected from the 2009-2010 Allegheny County Health Survey revealed important public health information on target groups for education and advertising campaigns. Allegheny County surpassed state and nationwide statistics in both prevalence of flu and pneumonia shots in every high-risk condition among adults aged 18-64 and total influenza and pneumococcal coverage. Additionally, prevalence of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination among adults over 65 has gradually increased from 2002. However, only 56.4% of African Americans received the influenza vaccine while more than 73% of Allegheny County’s white population over 65 years was vaccinated. Among adults aged 18-49, asthmatics and those with a previous heart attack represent an additional target population for influenza vaccination. Given that more than 80% of individuals over 65 years old unvaccinated against influenza or pneumonia visited a physician within the last year, programs targeting healthcare workers could reduce risk of complications for high-risk patients. Future programs to increase vaccination coverage and reduce missed opportunities could include computer-based reminder systems in healthcare settings and simultaneous administration of the flu and pneumonia vaccines