Vaccine . Prevalence and factors of influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic among university students in China

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Vaccine


. 2022 May 5;S0264-410X(22)00532-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.04.077. Online ahead of print.
Prevalence and factors of influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic among university students in China


Yanqiu Yu ¹ , Yee-Ling Ma ¹ , Sitong Luo ² , Suhua Wang ³ , Junfeng Zhao ⁴ , Guohua Zhang ⁵ , Lijuan Li ⁶ , Liping Li ⁷ , Joseph Tak-Fai Lau ⁸



Affiliations

• PMID: 35527061
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.04.077

Abstract

Background: Previous outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases (e.g., SARS) had increased the uptake of influenza vaccination (IV). It is uncertain whether such was also true for COVID-19. This study hence investigated prevalence of IV behavior/intention prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated cognitive factors.
Methods: A self-administered, online, and anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted among 6,922 university students of five provinces in China during November 1-28, 2020 (response rate: 72.3%).
Results: Of all the participants, 35.1% self-reported behavioral intention of IV (next 12 months), while 62.9% reported an increased intention of IV due to COVID-19. However, only 4.7% and 2.9% had taken up IV during the 12-month period prior to the outbreak (1/2019-12/2019) and during the COVID-19 outbreak (1-11/2020), respectively. Adjusted for the background factors, the multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that in general the COVID-19 related perceptions (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and perceived chance of having another wave of COVID-19 outbreak) were significantly and positively associated the IV behavior (during the COVID-19 outbreak) and intention of IV uptake in the next 12 months.
Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced actual behavior and intention of IV uptake among university students during the pandemic. Efforts are warranted to reduce the intention-behavior gap of IV uptake; modification of perceived susceptibility and perceived severity regarding COVID-19 may help. Future longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to confirm the findings of this study and explore other factors affecting IV uptake during the COVID-19 period.

Keywords: COVID-19; China; Influenza vaccination; Perceptions; University students.