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Review
. 2022 Apr 13;10(4):606.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines10040606.

Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Influenza Vaccination Intention: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Gwyneth Kong  1 , Nicole-Ann Lim  1 , Yip Han Chin  1 , Yvonne Peng Mei Ng  2   3 , Zubair Amin  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Influenza Vaccination Intention: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Gwyneth Kong et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

Poorer outcomes have been reported with COVID-19 and influenza coinfections. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, protection against influenza by vaccination is becoming increasingly important. This study examines how COVID-19 has influenced influenza vaccination intentions from a global perspective. A literature search was conducted on Embase, PubMed, and CNKI from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021 for articles reporting rates of influenza vaccination pre-COVID-19 (19/20 season), and intention and/or uptake of influenza vaccination post-COVID-19 (20/21 season). The changes in vaccination intention and reasons for changes were reported. Subgroup analyses were performed by region, gender, age, and occupation. Newcastle Ottawa Scale was used for quality assessment of the articles. Twenty-seven studies with 39,193 participants were included. Among 22 studies reporting intention to vaccinate in 20/21, there was increased intention to vaccinate (RR 1.50, 95% CI 1.32−1.69, p < 0.001) regardless of age, gender, and occupation. The remaining five studies reporting vaccination intention and uptake in 20/21 showed a similar increase (RR 1.68, 95%CI 1.20−2.36). Important determinants include historical vaccine acceptance, and perception of influenza severity and vaccine safety. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased intention to vaccinate against influenza internationally. The pandemic could be a window of opportunity to promote influenza vaccination and decrease vaccine hesitancy.

Keywords: COVID-19; influenza; meta-analysis; vaccination; vaccine hesitancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart of included studies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Influenza vaccination uptake pre-COVID-19 vs. intention post-COVID-19 by region. The squares and rhombus represent the individual and pooled point effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals respectively.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Influenza vaccination uptake pre-COVID-19 vs intention post-COVID-19 by gender and by age. The squares and rhombus represent the individual and pooled point effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals respectively.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Influenza vaccination uptake pre-COVID-19 vs intention post-COVID-19 by occupation. The squares and rhombus represent the individual and pooled point effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals respectively.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Influenza vaccination uptake pre-COVID-19 vs update and intention post-COVID-19. The squares and rhombus represent the individual and pooled point effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals respectively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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