US child flu vaccination rate jumped since H1N1 outbreak in 2009

Influenza vaccination among U.S. children ages 6 months to 17 years old increased from 31 percent during 2007-08 to 57 percent during 2011-12, officials say. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta used data from the National Health Interview Survey, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the National Flu Survey, the National Immunization Survey, the Immunization Information Systems eight sentinel sites, Internet panel surveys of healthcare personnel and pregnant women and the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System. Influenza vaccination coverage among adults age 18 and older increased from 33 percent during the 2007–08 flu season to 38.3 percent during the 2011-12 influenza season -- although there were variations on adult flu vaccination based on the data used. However, the influenza vaccination rates were below the U.S. goal of 70 percent for adults and children, the report said. For adults age 18 and older, a doctor's office was the most common place for influenza vaccination, followed by a pharmacy. Vaccination coverage among pregnant women was 47 percent as measured by an Internet panel survey during the influenza season, and 43 percent, as measured by BRFSS during the 2011-12 influenza season. Overall, as measured by NFS, 86.8 percent of adults rated the influenza vaccine as very or somewhat effective, and 46.5 percent of adults said their risk for getting sick with influenza if unvaccinated was high or somewhat high. The findings were published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.