THE IMPACT OF VACCINATION STRATEGY AND METHODS OF INFORMATION ON INFLUENZA AND PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINATION COVERAGE IN THE ELDERLY POPULATION

We compared the coverage achieved with either an age-based free-of-cha rge vaccination program offering influenza vaccine alone or with pneum ococcal vaccine with a restricted risk disease-based influenza vaccina tion program supplemented by self-funded immunization. We also compare d two means of informing the public, either using mailed personal remi nders or through the mass media only, Forty-one administrative distric ts with a total of 41500 persons aged 65 years or older participated i n the study during three consecutive seasons from 1992 to 1994. The av erage vaccination coverage achieved by the risk disease-based program was 20%, by the age-based program with mass media information, 52%, an d by the age-based program with mailed personal reminders 82%, The ava ilability of free-of-charge vaccines is thus not sufficient to ensure a high vaccination rate. The effect of the personal reminders was rest ricted to the year they were sent. The addition of pneumococcal vaccin e to the age-based influenza vaccination program had little influence on the acceptance rate. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.