Missed opportunities of flu vaccination in Italian target categories: insights from the online EPICOVID 19 survey

Giacomelli, Andrea; Galli, Massimo; Maggi, Stefania; Pagani, Gabriele; Incalzi, Raffaele Antonelli; Pedone, Claudio; Bari, Mauro Di; Noale, Marianna; Trevisan, Caterina; Bianchi, Fabrizio; Tavio, Marcello; Andreoni, Massimo; Mastroianni, Claudio; Sojic, Aleksandra; Prinelli, Federica; Adorni, Fulvio

We aimed to assess the reported rate of flu vaccination in the season 2019/2020 in respondents to the Italian nationwide online EPICOVID 19 survey. A national convenience sample of volunteers aged 18 or older was assessed between 13th April and 2nd June 2020. Flu vaccine rates were calculated for all classes of age. The association between the independent variables and the flu vaccine was assessed by applying a multivariable binary logistic regression model. Of the 198,822 respondents 41,818 (21.0%) reported to have received a flu vaccination shot during the last influenza season. In particular, 15,009 (53.4%) subjects aged 65 years or older received a flu vaccination shot. Being 65 years aged or older (aOR 3.06, 95%CI 2.92-3.20) and having a high education level (aOR 1.34. 95%CI 1.28-1.41) were independently associated to flu vaccination. Heart and lung diseases were the morbidities associated with the higher odds of being vaccinated [aOR 1.97 (95%CI 1.86-2.09) and aOR 1.92 (95%CI 1.84-2.01), respectively]. Nursing home residents aged [≥] 65 years showed a lower odds of being vaccinated [aOR 0.39 (95%CI 0.28-0.54)]. Our data claims for an urgent public heath effort to fill the gap of missed vaccination opportunities reported in the past flu seasons.