Low Flu Vaccination Rates Persist Among Children With Asthma

Less than half of children with asthma received an influenza vaccination between 2015 and 2018, according to study results from a Massachusetts insurance claims database published online ahead of print in Academic Pediatrics. 

“Current and longstanding guidelines recommend influenza vaccinations for children with asthma and most health plans are required to cover them without cost-sharing,” wrote corresponding author Kimberley H. Geissler, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and study coauthors. “However, low rates persist among both privately and publicly insured children with asthma, including for those with persistent asthma.”

Researchers used the Massachusetts All Payer Claims Database to investigate influenza vaccination rates for children with asthma by age, year, insurance type, and disease status. The study spanned 317,596 child-year observations for children with asthma for 171,416 unique children during the years 2015 to 2018.

Overall, 47.3% of the children with asthma received influenza vaccinations, according the study. Among children covered by private insurance, 51.3% were vaccinated. Among children covered by Medicaid, 45.1% were vaccinated.

After risk modeling, the study found that children with private insurance were 3.7 percentage points more likely to receive influenza vaccination compared with children with Medicaid. Persistent asthma as well as younger age were associated with more influenza vaccinations. 

Between 2015 and 2018, the probability of a child receiving influenza vaccination in a pharmacy or other non-office setting grew 3.2 percentage points. Children with Medicaid, however, had significantly lower rates of receiving influenza vaccinations in non-office settings.

“Offering vaccines in non-office settings such as retail pharmacies may reduce barriers,” researchers wrote, “but we did not observe increased vaccination rates in the first years after this policy change.”

Reference: 
Geissler KH, Shieh MS, Evans V, et al. Influenza vaccinations among privately and publicly insured children with asthma. Acad Pediatr. Published online March 2, 2023. doi:10.1016/j.acap.2023.02.010