Daily Brief: 2017.3.31
THREAT ANALYSIS
Flu Vaccine Study
A new study, published in the journal, Vaccine, has revealed that mothers would choose to vaccinate their child against the flu if there was a recommendation from a health care provider (HCP), an HCP was seen in the past year, positive attitude about the vaccine were present, and being of a minority race were all.
(Sources: CIDRAP, Vaccine)
The study, conducted by researchers from Indiana University, analyzed data from an online survey of 2,363 mothers of kids 9 to 13 years old. Of the mothers questioned, 59% obtained flu vaccine for their children in the previous year, citing two main reasons: "preventing their child from getting the flu" followed by "It's routine, I always have my child vaccinated against the seasonal flu.” Nearly 30% of mothers who did not get the flu shot for their child said it was because they did not think the vaccine worked, and 23.3% said they believed the vaccine could harm their child.
(Sources: Vaccine, CIDRAP)
According to the research article, seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in 2014–2015 were 62% for 5–12 year olds, dropping to 47% for 13–17 year olds. The Healthy People 2020 goal for these age groups is 80%.
(Source: Vaccine)
ACTION STEPS
- As shown by the article, providers are encouraged to continue to promote flu vaccine as the current best way to protect against the virus. (Source: CDC)
- CDC also recommends everyday preventive actions such as staying away from people who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes and frequent handwashing.
- Readers are encouraged to visit the MESH Flu Watch sitefor local and national updates on flu activity.
(Sources: CDC, WHO)