Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates Low Among Adults With Asthma

Only 42% of adults with current asthma have received a pneumococcal vaccine, according to the findings of a recent study.

In their study, the researchers examined data from the 2012-2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Asthma Call-back Survey that included ever-employed adults from 18 to 64 years of age with current asthma living in 29 states. Individuals reported if they had ever received the pneumococcal vaccine. The researchers classified adults based on whether their asthma was work-related, and calculated prevalence ratios using multivariate logistic regression. 
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Among the estimate 12 million adults with current asthma, 42% reported receiving a pneumococcal vaccine.

Adults who had work-related asthma were more likely to have received the pneumococcal vaccine compared with those with non-work-related asthma (53.7% vs 35%, respectively). Among those with work-related asthma, Hispanic adults who did not have insurance had the lowest rate of pneumococcal vaccine coverage (36.2%).

However, the coverage for all groups was below the Healthy People 2020 goal of 60% coverage.

“Pneumococcal vaccination coverage among adults with work-related asthma and non−work-related asthma is below the Healthy People 2020 target level,” the researchers concluded. “Healthcare providers should verify pneumococcal vaccination status in their patients with asthma and offer the vaccine to those not vaccinated.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Dodd KE and Mazurek JM. Pneumococcal vaccination among adults with work-related asthma [published online September 27, 2017]. Am J Prev Med. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.07.022.