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. 2024 Dec 2;24(1):3357.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20854-6.

Adult influenza vaccination coverage before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

Ruoke Chen  1 , Nicolas L Gilbert  2   3 , Ève Dubé  4
Affiliations

Adult influenza vaccination coverage before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

Ruoke Chen et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Vaccination prevents seasonal influenza and its complications, particularly among high-risk populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has been reported to impact healthcare behaviors and vaccination patterns. This study aims to assess influenza vaccination coverage and changes in vaccination settings among Canadian adults from the 2018-2019 to the 2023-2024 seasons.

Method: We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from multiple cycles of the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Coverage Survey (SIVCS). Vaccination coverage was examined across different seasons, stratified by population groups. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to compare vaccination likelihoods across seasons, with 2018-2019 serving as the reference. Chi-square tests were applied to determine whether there were significant differences in the place of vaccination since the pre-pandemic season.

Results: When comparing vaccine uptake before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed a temporary coverage decline in 2021-2022 season (OR = 0.882, 95% CI = 0.787-0.988) compared to the pre-pandemic season in 2018-2019. By the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons, vaccination coverage returned to pre-pandemic levels. Coverage among adults aged 18-64 without chronic medical condition consistently remained lower than in other groups. The places of vaccination shifted markedly, with pharmacies becoming the predominant site, increasing from 35.4% in 2018-2019 to 57.4% in 2023-2024, while doctor's offices saw a decline from 32.7 to 15.2% over the same period.

Conclusion: Our findings highlight the transient effect of the pandemic on flu vaccine uptake in Canada. The increasing use of pharmacies for vaccinations underscores the importance of accessible and convenient vaccination sites. Future efforts should focus on maintaining and improving vaccination coverage through diverse and adaptable vaccination settings.

Keywords: Canada.; Impact of COVID-19 pandemic; Influenza vaccination; Place of vaccination; Public health; Vaccination coverage.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent of participation: The Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Coverage Survey (SIVCS) was conducted in compliance with the Public Opinion Research Contract Regulations (SOR/2007 − 134), ensuring that all public opinion research followed proper guidelines, including transparency and data handling. It also adhered to the Privacy Act, guaranteeing the protection of personal information. Additionally, the Policy on Communications and Federal Identity was respected, ensuring that all communications were factual and accessible. All necessary confidentiality rules were applied to the data, and if required, data were suppressed to prevent the identification of respondents. Consent was implied through continued participation after a voluntary and confidentiality statement was read to respondents. The methodology was qualitatively tested, and the research protocols were approved in accordance with the respective privacy and data ethics standards. The data collected adhered to the legal obligations to ensure no personal data was released, and the information was processed as mandated by the Public Opinion Research Contract Regulations and Privacy Act, preventing any direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

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