Using Influenza as a Predictor of COVID-19 Vaccination Receipt among Lower-Income Adults in the United States

Christeon M Gaskin, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, United States, Email: christeonmgaskin@gmail.com

Received: 10-Mar-2022, Manuscript No. AJPMPH-22-56736; Editor assigned: 14-Mar-2022, Pre QC No. AJPMPH-22-56736 (PQ); Reviewed: 29-Mar-2022, QC No. AJPMPH-22-56736; Revised: 04-Apr-2022, Manuscript No. AJPMPH-22-56736 (R); Published: 11-Apr-2022

Introduction

Governments and drug companies around the world worked for many months to produce a safe, reliable, and effective coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines [1,2,3]. On December 11th, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued emergency use authorization for the first COVID-19 vaccine in the United States (U.S.) [1,2,3]. While there were initial hopes among the general population that this would signal the end of the pandemic, many in the scientific community warned that life would not go back to normal immediately after the initial COVID-19 vaccinations were approved for use [4-6]. Developing a safe, effective vaccine is only part of the challenge of stopping the spread of COVID-19 [4-6]. Achieving herd immunity and stopping the spread of COVID-19 too depends on the accessibility of the vaccine and its acceptance among different communities [4-6]. Individuals with high-income levels are better positioned to follow the vaccination recommendations set forth by the CDC and prevent subsequent diseases from occurring [7]. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all people aged 6 months and older receive influenza (flu) vaccination each year. Yet, flu coverage rates in the US are only 45.3% among adults ≥ 18 years. 8 Despite being readily available and extremely cost-effective, barriers to flu vaccination coverage still exist.8-10 Similar barriers to COVID-19 vaccination coverage have also been observed [3,11,12,13]. As of 24 January 2022, approximately 63.4% of Americans (approximately 210.5 million) have received one shot of J&J vaccine or two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.3 The main implications of these findings are that inequalities in income levels are limiting the receipt of the COVID-19 vaccines throughout the nation.[3,11,12,13].

Further analysis and research regarding the relationship between total family income and the receipt of flu vaccination may assist in understanding the barriers to COVID-19 vaccination throughout the United States. Similar to flu vaccinations, bi-annual COVID-19 vaccinations might be needed to combat the potential disease variants that may arise in the future [14,15]. COVID-19 vaccination rates will likely be higher for those with higher income levels.3 The federal government indicated that COVID-19 vaccines would be available to everyone in America, regardless of their income and health insurance coverage status [16,17]. Still, many bioethicists and infectious-disease specialists were rightfully concerned that the initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine would still end up being given to the wealthiest Americans first [18,19]. The unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, combined with the vaccine hesitancy seen throughout many communities, will likely further prolong the receipt of the COVID-19 vaccination among those with the lowest income levels [3-26].

Conclusion

The findings from the existing research suggest that public health professionals should further target low-income individuals in future vaccination coverage efforts. In order to help ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are received fairly throughout the nation, government officials at the federal, state, and local levels will need to update their immunization policies, recommendations, and practices. Furthermore, government officials need to continue to work with key stakeholders throughout the nation to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccine doses are properly allocated and distributed to low-income individuals. Such actions could help reduce disparities not only with the receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine, but also influenza vaccination efforts. Despite the cost-effectiveness of influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations, coverage remains low throughout the United States. Income has previously been shown to be a determinant in ensuring widespread flu vaccination coverage throughout the nation. Similarly, income related factors have proven to be an important burden to current COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Now that COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized for use by the federal government, additional studies are needed to further examine the relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and income among adults living in the United States. The results of such research could help identify future intervention strategies to increase the receipt of influenza vaccinations throughout the nation.

Acknowledgement

None

Competiting Interests

None

REFERENCES

1. FDA Takes Key Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for First COVID-19 Vaccine.
2. Holcombe M, Levenson E  First batch of coronavirus vaccine ships out from Pfizer plant for all 50 states.2020.
3. Guo Y, Kaniuka AR, Gao J, Sims OT  An Epidemiologic Analysis of Associations between County-Level Per Capita Income, Unemployment Rate, and COVID-19 Vaccination Rates in the United States, 2022.

   [Crossref][Google scholar][PubMed]

4. Tsipursky G Bad News about the Pandemic: We’re Not Getting Back to Normal Any Time Soon. 2020.
5. McCarthy M. Fauci, Experts Debate When Our COVID-19 Lives Will Return to Normal, 2020.
6. Malik AA, McFadden SM, Elharake J, Omer SB  Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in the US. EClinicalMedicine 2020;26:1-8.

   [Crosref][Google scholar][PubMed]

7. Blue C Vaccination Coverage and Socioeconomic Status: A Test Of Fundamental Cause Theory. 2018.

   [Google scholar]

8. CDC  Flu Vaccination Coverage, United States, 2018–19 Influenza Season. 2019.
9. Schmid P, Rauber D, Betsch C, Lidolt G, Denker ML  Barriers of Influenza Vaccination Intention and Behavior - A Systematic Review of Influenza Vaccine Hesitancy 2005 - 2016. PloS one, 2017;12: e0170550.

   [Crossref][Google scholar][PubMed]

10. Suryadevara M, Bonville CA, Paula F, Domachowske J B Influenza vaccine hesitancy in a low-income community in central New York State. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2014; 10:2098-103.

    [Crossref][Google scholar][PubMed]

11. Hamel L, Kirzinger A, Lopes L, Kearney A, Sparks G, Brodie M KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: January 2021.
12. DeRoo SS, Pudalov NJ, Fu LY Planning for a COVID-19 Vaccination Program. JAMA. 2020;23:2458-2459.

    [Crossref][Google scholar][PubMed]

13. National Foundation for Infectious Disease. Issue Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on US Vaccination Rates. 2020.
14. Lovelace B Jr J&J CEO says people may need annual Covid vaccine shots for the next several years. 2021.
15. Mollerus M  VERIFY: Do you need the COVID-19 vaccine every year? It's too early to know. 2021.
16. Medicare C, Services M  Press release: Trump Administration Acts to Ensure Coverage of Life-Saving COVID-19 Vaccines & Therapeutics. 2021.
17. Strickler L, Ramgopal K, Enright M, Schapiro R How to get a COVID vaccine: Everything we know, from cost to effectiveness.2020.
18. Buchwald E America's 1% will be pulling out all the stops to get their hands on the COVID-19 vaccine. Dispatches from a Pandemic. 2020.
19. Boone M Can you buy a COVID-19 vaccine? Stanford expert weighs in as 1st batch of doses heads to California. 2020.
20. Appleby J Supply Is Limited and Distribution Uncertain as COVID Vaccine Rolls Out. 2020.
21. Michaud J, Kates J Distributing a COVID-19 Vaccine Across the U.S.- A Look at Key Issues. 2020.
22. Department of Health and Human Services. COVID-19 Pandemic Vaccination Planning: Update for State and Local Public Health Programs.2020.
23. Department of Health and Human Services. From the Factory to the Frontlines.The Operation Warp Speed Strategy for Distributing a COVID-19 Vaccine.2020.
24. Fox JB, Shaw FE, Office of Health System Collaboration, Office of the Associate Director for Policy, CDC. Relationship of income and health care coverage to receipt of recommended clinical preventive services by adults - United States, 2011-2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014; 63:666–670.

    [Google scholar][PubMed]

25. Lau JS, Adams SH, Irwin CE Jr, Ozer EM Receipt of preventive health services in young adults. J Adolesc Health. 2013;52:42-9.

    [Crosref][Google scholar][PubMed]

26. Narciso HE, Pathela P, Morgenthau BM, Kansagra SM, May L, Scaccia A, Zucker JR. Description of a large urban school-located 2009 pandemic H1N1 vaccination campaign, New York City 2009-2010. J Urban Health 2012; 89:317-28.

    [Crossref][Google scholar][PubMed]

Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.