Safety and acceptability of pneumococcal vaccinations administered in nontraditional settings

Concerns about the safety and acceptability of vaccine administration in nontraditional settings might leave patients and their providers reluctant to take advantage of nontraditional settings for immunizations.

Elderly persons who received pneumococcal vaccinations in these settings were surveyed with a structured questionnaire. They were asked about local and systemic symptoms during the postvaccination week versus a comparison time period.

Of the 1136 people included in the convenience sample, 636 responded (56%). Systemic symptoms were generally at similar or lower rates for the postvaccination week versus the comparison week, although fever was more common during the postvaccination week (3% vs 0.3%; P <.01). After vaccination 23.1% had any local symptom (soreness, redness, or swelling). Subjects who had been previously vaccinated were more likely to report local redness or swelling than were first-time vaccine recipients or people who were unsure of their vaccination status (13.1% vs 4.4% vs 1.4%, respectively; P =.001). In multivariate analyses, local symptoms were strongly associated with fever after vaccination (adjusted odds ratio, 13.15; P <.001), and revaccination was strongly associated with local symptoms (adjusted odds ratio, 3.77; P <.001). One hundred percent of respondents were very or somewhat satisfied with their experience, and >99% would recommend a nontraditional setting to a friend or family member.

Nontraditional settings offer a safe and highly satisfactory option for the administration of pneumococcal vaccinations to the elderly.