Vaccine coverage for COVID-19, flu and RSV up from last year
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Key takeaways:
- Uptake of COVID-19, influenza and RSV vaccines is up this year among some people.
- Around one-third of U.S. adults got a 2024-2025 flu vaccine and less than one in five got an updated COVID-19 vaccine.
More U.S. adults this year have been vaccinated against COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus compared with last year, although uptake of the vaccines remains low, researchers reported Thursday.
According to data published in two studies in MMWR, around one-third of adults has received this season’s influenza vaccine, less than one in five has received a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine, and roughly one-third of adults eligible for an RSV vaccine has ever received one.
Although well over half of nursing home residents have received an influenza vaccine, the rates for COVID-19 and RSV vaccines were similar to those for adults of all ages, researchers reported.
A survey in September suggested it could be a tough year for vaccine uptake, finding that more than one-third of respondents said they did not plan to get one of the respiratory vaccines. Additionally, COVID-19 vaccine uptake has continued to decline among the public and health care personnel alike, and influenza vaccine uptake was low in the Southern Hemisphere.
“There is still time to increase vaccination coverage for the current respiratory season,” the CDC said in a summary of the studies sent to reporters. “Health care providers and immunization programs can prepare for the height of the season by expanding outreach and promoting vaccination activities.”
In one study, CDC researchers analyzed data from a national random-digit-dialed cell phone survey of adults, which included responses to vaccine-related questions from 137,000 people on influenza, 112,000 people on COVID-19 and 88,000 people on RSV, collected between Sept. 7, 2024, and Nov. 9, 2024.
According to the responses, as of Nov. 9, cumulative estimated vaccine coverage of adults aged 18 years and older for the COVID-19 vaccines was 17.9% and for influenza vaccines was 34.7%. RSV vaccine coverage was estimated to be 39.7% among adults aged 75 years and older and 31.6% among adults aged 60 to 74 years.
Among adults aged 18 years and older, 14.5% said they would definitely get an influenza vaccine and another 20.5% said they were likely to get on or were unsure; 13.5% said they would definitely get a COVID-19 vaccine and another 27.1% were likely or unsure; and 7.2% said they would definitely get an RSV vaccine, with another 32.8% saying they were likely or unsure about the shot.
Although uptake for all three vaccines is low, researchers reported that rates are higher than they were at the same point in the 2023-2024 season: Influenza vaccine rates are 0.9 percentage points higher among adults aged 18 years and older and up 3.7 percentage points among adults aged 65 years and older; COVID-19 vaccine rates are up 4.7 percentage points and 13.7 percentage points among the two groups; and RSV vaccine rates have increased by 9.6 percentage points among adults aged 75 years and older and increased 8.7 percentage points among adults aged 60 years to 74 years.
In the second study, researchers analyzed data on COVID-19 vaccination at more than 14,000 CMS-certified nursing homes, influenza vaccination at nearly 9,000 nursing homes and RSV vaccination at nearly 8,000 nursing homes that report vaccination data to the National Healthcare Safety Network collected through Nov. 10, 2024.
According to the study, COVID-19 vaccine coverage increased to 29.7% this year from 24% through the same time in 2023, influenza vaccine coverage decreased to 58.4% from 68.3% in 2023, and RSV vaccine coverage increased to 17.9% from 6.7% in 2023.
“Using these data can help health care providers and immunization programs identify undervaccinated populations and understand vaccination patterns to guide planning, implementation and evaluation of vaccination activities,” researchers wrote.
References:
- Kriss JL, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024;doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm73436a1.
- Reses HE, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024;doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm73436a2.
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