Influenza vaccination rates among healthcare workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating influencing factors

Abstract

IntroductionHealthcare workers risk of exposure to the influenza virus in their work, is a high-risk group for flu infections. Thus WHO recommends prioritizing flu vaccination for them–an approach adopted by >40 countries and/or regions worldwide.MethodsCross-sectional studies on influenza vaccination rates among healthcare workers were collected from PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, and CBM databases from inception to February 26, 2023. Influenza vaccination rates and relevant data for multiple logistic regression analysis, such as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), were extracted.ResultsA total of 92 studies comprising 125 vaccination data points from 26 countries were included in the analysis. The meta-analysis revealed that the overall vaccination rate among healthcare workers was 41.7%. Further analysis indicated that the vaccination rate was 46.9% or 35.6% in low income or high income countries. Vaccination rates in the Americas, the Middle East, Oceania, Europe, Asia, and Africa were 67.1, 51.3, 48.7, 42.5, 28.5, and 6.5%, respectively. Influencing factors were age, length of service, education, department, occupation, awareness of the risk of influenza, and/or vaccines.ConclusionThe global influenza vaccination rate among healthcare workers is low, and comprehensive measures are needed to promote influenza vaccination among this population.Systematic review registrationwww.inplysy.com, identifier: 202350051.

Implementing a Successful Influenza and Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Among Healthcare Workers in a Delaware Healthcare Facility

“…A meta-analysis conducted by Fan et al from 92 studies comprised of 125 vaccination data points from 26 countries concluded that the overall influenza vaccination rates among health care workers was 41.7%. 3 The study identified factors that influenced vaccine uptake as age, length of employment, education level, area of work, occupation, coexisting medical conditions, perception of being at risk of infection, participation in vaccine training, and health education and knowledge of vaccine timing. 3 Although some members of the public were accepting of the new COVID-19 boosters, healthcare workers also encountered barriers similar to the public, which included mistrust in vaccines, misinformation related to vaccine safety and concerns of safe vaccine use during pregnancy.…”

“… 3 The study identified factors that influenced vaccine uptake as age, length of employment, education level, area of work, occupation, coexisting medical conditions, perception of being at risk of infection, participation in vaccine training, and health education and knowledge of vaccine timing. 3 Although some members of the public were accepting of the new COVID-19 boosters, healthcare workers also encountered barriers similar to the public, which included mistrust in vaccines, misinformation related to vaccine safety and concerns of safe vaccine use during pregnancy. 5 The CDC’s MMWR weekly report 1 describes that healthcare workers whose employers’ neither required or recommended the vaccines had the lowest vaccine coverage, although the coverage with COVID-19 primary series vaccination was greater than 80% in all work settings possibly because of the prioritization of vaccination among health care workers and the vaccine mandates that existed during the pandemic.…”

“…There is evidence supporting that influenza vaccination in healthy adults can prevent at least 64% 2 of laboratory confirmed cases of flu and reduce the incidence of influenza like illness (ILI) by 42%. 3 Furthermore, there are implications of reducing absenteeism for health care workers by 37% and lessening workdays lost by 0.18 days per person among vaccinated healthcare workers in contrast to a comparison group. 2 Although COVID-19 vaccine mandates among hospitals were controversial, our health system adopted a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all employees for the primary series (which was mainly the first two doses of a 2-dose series or a single dose vaccine) which was later lifted around 2022.…”