Flu vaccination among children and adolescents in the Bronx rose before the pandemic, then dropped and never recovered, according to a study by researchers from the CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health (ISPH) and CUNY SPH.
For the study, researchers including ISPH Research Scientist Madhura Rane and ISPH Investigator Chloe Teasdale followed 138,500 children ages 2 months to 18 years across six influenza seasons in Montefiore Medical Group clinics in the Bronx. Overall coverage increased to a high of 56.5% in 2019-2020, then dropped to 43.6% by 2022-2023.
The biggest decreases were seen in school-aged children and adolescents, which the authors say drove the overall decline after the pandemic. Coverage was also lower in 2022-2023 among children with self-pay and Medicaid insurance compared with private insurance. The interaction analysis suggested that the decline over time differed by age and insurance status, with larger drops among 5- to 9-year-olds, 10- to 14-year-olds, self-pay patients, and Medicaid patients.
“Influenza vaccination is still one of the best ways to prevent severe flu illness and hospitalization in children, so a sustained decline is a public health concern,” says Teasdale. “Pandemic disruptions likely had an impact, but hesitancy and misinformation may also have contributed to the failure to rebound.”
Findings suggest recovery efforts may need to focus especially on older children and teens, not just younger children.
Reposted with permission from CUNY SPH.
