The uptake of the flu vaccine by the public increased last year by almost 30 per cent due to the Covid-19 pandemic, new research shows.
However, further research will be required to determine whether this will be sustained in the years to come.
The research findings, The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Uptake of the Seasonal Influenza Vaccine, published in this month’s Irish Medical Journal, show that there was a 27.4 per cent increase in uptake of the seasonal influenza vaccine last year compared to 2019.
GP practice
Up to 465 patients in an urban GP practice over a two-week period last October were surveyed and 233 patients, or 76 per cent, were more likely to take the vaccine this year due to the pandemic but this was dependent on age.
The 13-30 year group were found to be three times less inclined, or 95 per cent, to take the vaccine due to the virus than the other age groups while 149, or 48.9 per cent, felt the vaccine is more important than they previously appreciated.
136, or 58.4 per cent, of patients who were more inclined to receive the vaccine cited wanting to “avoid seeing a doctor/needing to go to hospital this year in particular”.
52 patients, or 22.3 per cent, took the seasonal influenza vaccine in the belief it would “offer some protection against Covid-19”.
The flu or Influenza is a contagious viral disease that results in up to five million cases of severe illness and 650,000 deaths worldwide each year.
Flu season
The flu season in the Northern Hemisphere lasts from October until May. Such outbreaks usually last from six to eight weeks and can impact people of all ages, especially the very young and the very elderly.
In Ireland the 2018/19 flu season resulted in high levels of hospitalisations for confirmed cases resulting in a significant impact on the health system with 7,943 cases notified to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, 3,244 cases hospitalised, 159 cases admitted to Intensive Care Units, and 97 deaths.
Research author Dr Niall O’ Sullivan, from Douglas Medical Centre, said that early evidence in the UK suggests the pandemic has positively influenced the flu vaccine uptake.
“Nearly half of the patients felt the flu vaccine is more important than they had previously thought. This indicates that the pandemic has highlighted its importance,” said Dr O’Sullivan.
“Wanting to avoid engaging with the acute services this year in particular or 58.4 per ent of the patients surveyed, and a belief that the flu vaccine would offer protection against Covid-19 or 22.4 per cent were two common reasons participants were more inclined to take the vaccine this year.
“A desire to protect friends and family from illness or 44.6 per cent of patients made them more inclined to take the flu vaccine this year.It remains to be seen whether these factors will positively influence the vaccine uptake in the post-pandemic era.”
Age influence
The study highlights that considering the poorer clinical outcomes in elderly Covid-19 patients, compared to those who are younger it is unsurprising that age had a strong influence on whether the pandemic had made patients more inclined to take the flu vaccine.
“With regards to the flu vaccine uptake, the 13-30 year-old age group was 3.2 times less likely than the other age groupings to have been positively influenced by the pandemic,” added Dr O’Sullivan.
“This suggests that those who deemed themselves to be less at risk from the virus were less likely to be influenced by the pandemic with regards to the flu vaccine uptake, notwithstanding the fact that the vaccine is not routinely recommended in this age group”.
In Ireland, the vaccine is made available free of charge to all adults aged 65 and over, pregnant women, children and adults over six months of age with certain chronic medical conditions, those with Downs Syndrome, those living in a nursing home or long-term care facility, carers, healthcare workers, those who work with pigs, poultry or waterfowl.
In 2020 the government of Ireland introduced changes to allow all of those in the HSE defined at-risk groups, aged from six months to 69 years inclusive, to access the vaccine without charge.
