Influenza vaccination of Michigan children by provider type, 2010-2011

Influenza vaccination for all children aged 6 months to 18 years has been recommended since 2008 to prevent flu-related morbidity and mortality. However, 2010-2011 influenza vaccine coverage estimates show under-vaccination in children of all ages. We examined predictors of influenza vaccination in Michigan during the 2010-2011 influenza season.

To determine whether immunization provider type was associated with a child's influenza vaccination in Michigan and assess whether county-level factors were confounders of the association.

Influenza vaccinations reported to the Michigan Care Improvement Registry from the 2010-2011 influenza season were analyzed in 2012 to estimate ORs for the association between immunization provider type and influenza vaccination.

Among 2,373,826 Michigan children aged 6 months through 17 years, 17% were vaccinated against influenza and lower vaccination rates were observed for public compared to private providers (13% vs 18%). In the unadjusted model, public providers had lower odds of vaccinating children compared to private providers (OR=0.60, 95% CI=0.60, 0.61). County-level factors, including percentage of families living below the poverty line, median household income, and percentage black race, were not shown to confound the association. In the adjusted models, public providers had lower odds of vaccinating children compared to private providers (OR=0.87, 95% CI=0.86, 0.88).

Although a child's likelihood of influenza vaccination in Michigan varies by provider type, more effective strategies to improve influenza vaccination rates for all Michigan children are needed.