2742. The Impact of Influenza Vaccination on Antibiotic Use in the United States, 2010–2017

Abstract

BackgroundAntibiotic resistance is a cause of morbidity and mortality driven by inappropriate prescribing. In the United States, a third of all outpatient antibiotic prescriptions may be inappropriate. Seasonal influenza rates are significantly associated with antibiotic prescribing rates. The impact of influenza vaccination coverage on antibiotic prescribing is unknown.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of state-level vaccination coverage and antibiotic prescribing rates from 2010 to 2017. We used fixed effects regression to analyze the relationship between cumulative vaccine coverage rates for a season and the per capita number of prescriptions for systemic antibiotics for the corresponding season (January–March) controlling for temperature, poverty, healthcare infrastructure, population structure, and vaccine effectiveness.ResultsRates of vaccination coverage ranged from 33% in Nevada to 52% in Rhode Island for the 2016–2017 season, while antibiotic use rates ranged from 25 prescriptions per 1,000 inhabitants in Alaska to 377 prescriptions per 1,000 inhabitants in West Virginia (Figure 1). Vaccination coverage rates were highly correlated with reduced prescribing rates, and controlling for other factors, we found that a one percent increase in the influenza vaccination rate was associated with 1.40 (95% CI: 2.22–0.57, P < 0.01) fewer antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 inhabitants (Table 1). Increases in the vaccination coverage rate in the pediatric population (aged 0–18) had the strongest effect, followed by the elderly (aged 65+).ConclusionVaccination can reduce morbidity and mortality from seasonal influenza. Though coverage rates are far below levels necessary to generate herd immunity, we found that higher coverage rates in a state were associated with lower antibiotic prescribing rates. While the effectiveness of the vaccine varies from year to year and the factors that drive antibiotic prescribing rates are multi-factorial, these results suggest that increased vaccination coverage for influenza would have significant benefit in terms of reducing antibiotic overuse and correspondingly antibiotic resistance. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.