Public interest in vaccinations and fear of viral infections is waning

October 7, 2024

Source: National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, 2024 Survey, September 25, 2024

It’s fall vaccination season, and the good news is that we have incredibly effective vaccinations for three respiratory diseases that cause widespread illness, hospitalization and death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are likely to be 800,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. for influenza, COVID and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) this fall and winter. Vaccines to prevent each of these are highly effective and side effects are generally mild. Side effects that last more than a day or two are extremely rare.

The bad news is that public interest in vaccination has declined. The National Foundation for Infectious Disease published a national survey late last month which showed that four years after the COVID-19 pandemic began Americans are less worried about respiratory viruses. At the same time, they are increasingly worried about vaccine side effects. In this survey, 38% said they would definitely get an influenza vaccine this fall, and 26% said they would definitely get a COVID vaccine.

Here’s a summary of vaccine recommendations:

●      Influenza vaccination is recommended for all those over 6 months of age.

●      COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all those over 6 months of age.

●      RSV vaccination is recommended for those over age 75, and those over age 60 with lung or heart disease. RSV vaccination is also recommended for pregnant women who are in the last month of pregnancy between September and January for protection of their newborn, as RSV is a major cause of hospitalization for newborns. Babies born in the fall and early winter whose mothers did not get a vaccination can receive a monoclonal antibody.

Implications for employers:

-        Higher rates of vaccination in the community will mean fewer employees missing days of work due to illness of themselves or family members.

-        Employer flu shot clinics help increase community rate of uptake of influenza vaccines.

-        Employers could also offer COVID-19 vaccines at the same time, although most are offering just the flu shot this fall. We hope that there will be a combined shot for flu and COVID-19 fall, 2025.

-        Employers should remind participants in their flu shot clinics to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination. This is available with no out-of-pocket costs, generally from either pharmacies or at clinical offices.

Thanks for reading.  You can find previous posts in the Employer Coverage archive

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