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. 2023 Oct 6;13(10):e071852.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-071852.

Evaluating the impact of using mobile vaccination units to increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Cheshire and Merseyside, UK: a synthetic control analysis

Xingna Zhang  1 , John S P Tulloch  2 , Shane Knott  3 , Rachel Allison  4 , Paula Parvulescu  3 , Iain E Buchan  5 , Marta Garcia-Finana  6 , Roberta Piroddi  5 , Mark A Green  7 , Sophie Baird  8 , Ben Barr  5
Affiliations

Evaluating the impact of using mobile vaccination units to increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Cheshire and Merseyside, UK: a synthetic control analysis

Xingna Zhang et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of mobile vaccination units on COVID-19 vaccine uptake of the first dose, the percentage of vaccinated people among the total eligible population. We further investigate whether such an effect differed by deprivation, ethnicity and age.

Design: Synthetic control analysis.

Setting: The population registered with general practices (GPs) in nine local authority areas in Cheshire and Merseyside in Northwest England, UK.

Intervention: Mobile vaccination units that visited 37 sites on 54 occasions between 12 April 2021 and 28 June 2021. We defined intervention neighbourhoods as having their population weighted centroid located within 1 km of mobile vaccination sites (338 006 individuals). A weighted combination of neighbourhoods that had not received the intervention (1 495 582 individuals) was used to construct a synthetic control group.

Outcome: The weekly number of first-dose vaccines received among people aged 18 years and over as a proportion of the population.

Results: The introduction of a mobile vaccination unit into a neighbourhood increased the number of first vaccinations conducted in the neighbourhood by 25% (95% CI 21% to 28%) within 3 weeks after the first visit to a neighbourhood, compared with the synthetic control group. Interaction analyses showed smaller or no effect among older age groups, Asian and black ethnic groups, and the most socioeconomically deprived populations.

Conclusions: Mobile vaccination units are effective interventions for increasing vaccination uptake, at least in the short term. While mobile units can be geographically targeted to reduce inequalities, we found evidence that they may increase inequalities in vaccine uptake within targeted areas, as the intervention was less effective among groups that tended to have lower vaccination uptake. Mobile vaccination units should be used in combination with activities to maximise outreach with black and Asian communities and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health policy; Public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location of the 35 eligible mobile vaccination units (red dots), the two static pop-up sites (cyan dots) and the non-intervention (purple) and intervention (yellow) areas across Cheshire and Merseyside. The submap in the box of the top right shows the location of Cheshire and Merseyside in England.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The trend in the weekly vaccination rate with their 95% CIs in the intervention and synthetic control areas.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Heatmap of the estimated impact of the mobile vaccination units on Weekly number of first dose COVID-19 vaccines administered among all the subgroups based on interaction analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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