Public Interest in Distribution and Determinants of Influenza and Pneumonia Vaccination during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Infodemiology and Cross-Sectional Study from China.

Liubing Gong,Mark R Francis,Kaiyi Han,Zhiyuan Hou,Xu Zhang,Zhiqiang Qu,Cuilin Xu,Huilin Shi,Enmao Cai

doi:10.3390/vaccines9111329

Abstract

Background: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, global interest in influenza vaccines and pneumonia vaccines has increased significantly. We aimed to examine public interest in and actual market circulation of influenza and pneumonia vaccines before and after the initial outbreak of COVID-19 and estimate the coverage and determinants of influenza and pneumonia vaccination uptake following the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We obtained search volume data for vaccines using the Baidu search index and collected the numbers of vaccines issued from the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control. We also conducted a cross-sectional survey among 3346 adult residents to evaluate the coverage and determinants of influenza and pneumonia vaccination uptake in the Yangtze River delta, China, from 29 January to 4 February 2021. Results: Public searches and the number of vaccines issued for the influenza vaccines and pneumonia vaccines obviously increased after the initial outbreak of COVID-19. In the total sample, 12.5% were vaccinated against influenza, and 21.5% had at least one family member vaccinated against pneumonia. A minority of participants perceived that they were highly or very highly susceptible to influenza (15.9%) and COVID-19 (6.7%). A range of socio-economic factors and perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 were associated with influenza and pneumonia vaccination uptake. Conclusions: Public interest in and issued volumes of influenza and pneumonia vaccines increased nationally following the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceptions of high susceptibility to COVID-19 were associated with the uptake of the influenza and pneumonia vaccines. Targeted interventions were needed to improve vaccination coverage.

Highlights

Introduction distributed under the terms andInfluenza and pneumococcal infections place a heavy burden on communities and healthcare systems worldwide [1,2,3]
Respondents living in Nanjing city and those working in the service industry or agricultural industry had a lower likelihood of pneumonia vaccination for themselves or their family members
Our survey showed that public interest in and issued volumes of influenza and pneumonia vaccines significantly increased nationally following the COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Introduction

Introduction distributed under the terms andInfluenza and pneumococcal infections place a heavy burden on communities and healthcare systems worldwide [1,2,3]. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, global interest in influenza vaccines and pneumonia vaccines has increased significantly. We aimed to examine public interest in and actual market circulation of influenza and pneumonia vaccines before and after the initial outbreak of COVID-19 and estimate the coverage and determinants of influenza and pneumonia vaccination uptake following the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Public searches and the number of vaccines issued for the influenza vaccines and pneumonia vaccines obviously increased after the initial outbreak of COVID-19. A range of socio-economic factors and perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 were associated with influenza and pneumonia vaccination uptake. Conclusions: Public interest in and issued volumes of influenza and pneumonia vaccines increased nationally following the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceptions of high susceptibility to COVID-19 were associated with the uptake of the influenza and pneumonia vaccines.

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