Adults who receive a clinican recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination are more likely to have received one or more doses of the vaccine, according to research published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Kimberly H. Nguyen, DrPH, and colleagues analyzed data from the National Immunization Survey-Adult COVID Module to examine the prevalence of report of a clinican recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination and its association with COVID-19 vaccination coverage and attitudes. The prevalence of clinician recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination among adults increased from 34.6% to 40.5% between April 22 to May 29 and August 29 to September 25, 2021. The likelihood of having received one or more doses of a COVID-19 vaccine was increased for adults who reported a clinician recommendation versus those who did not receive a recommendation (77.6% vs 61.9%; adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.12). A clinician recommendation was associated with concern about COVID-19, belief that COVID-19 vaccines are important to protect oneself, belief that COVID-19 vaccination is very or completely safe, and the perception that many or all of one’s family and friends had received a COVID-19 vaccination (aPRs, 1.31, 1.15, 1.17, and 1.19, respectively).
Less Than Half of Older Adults Received COVID-19 Booster
About 44% of people aged 65 or older in the United States received a booster or additional primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine between August 13 and November 19, 2021, according to research published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Noting that adults aged 65 or older were one of the populations first recommended for a booster dose in the US, researchers analyzed data on COVID-19 vaccinations reported to the CDC from 50 states, the District of Columbia, eight territories, and freely associated states to ascertain coverage with booster or additional primary doses among adults aged 65 or older. The researchers found that 18.7 million persons aged 65 or older received a booster or additional primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine from August to November, representing 44.1% of 42.5 million eligible persons in this age group who had completed a primary vaccination series. Similar coverage was seen by sex and age group, but there was variation by primary series product and by race and ethnicity, varying from 30.3% to 50.5% among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native persons and non-Hispanic multiple/other race people, respectively.
