Improving Vaccination Rates for the 2018-2019 Influenza Season

Fam Pract Manag. 2019 May-June;26(3):17-20.

Preventive medicine is critical to help people live longer, healthier lives and keep health care costs down. Promoting influenza immunizations among your patients can significantly contribute to these outcomes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during the 2017-2018 flu season alone, the influenza vaccine prevented 7.1 million illnesses, 3.7 million medical visits, 109,000 hospitalizations, and 8,000 deaths associated with the flu.¹

While these results indicate the significant benefits of current influenza vaccination, there is still a need for improved vaccination rates. For the same 2017-2018 flu season, nearly 58% of children² and only 37% of adults³ received the vaccination. This was a 6% decline for adults from the previous season and their lowest rate since the CDC began recording official data in the 2009-2010 flu season.³

This organizational supplement summarizes information and resources the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) develops, utilizes, and disseminates to family physicians and their health care teams to increase influenza vaccination rates. The supplement focuses on the 2018-2019 influenza season to include:

• Composition changes,

• Recommendation changes,

• Vaccine choices by age,

• Communicating with patients,

• Forming a plan.

Access the full supplement.