Parental status and gender are associated with differences in Tdap vaccination rates among United States adults

Professional societies recommend all caregivers of neonates be vaccinated to Tdap to prevent neonatal pertussis. Limited data exist as to whether parents, including female parents (i.e. mothers) and male parents (i.e. fathers), are compliant with Tdap recommendations. We utilized individual-level self-reported Tdap vaccination information from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BFRSS) to assess the extent to which parental status was associated with Tdap vaccination status. Among reproductive age individuals (19-49 years old) with known parental status, only 28 % had Tdap vaccination: 38 % of female parents, 29 % of male parents, 30 % of female non-parents, 22 % of male non-parents. When compared to reproductive age female parents, the odds of Tdap vaccination were significantly lower for male parents (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.65, 95 % Confidence interval (CI) [0.58-0.72]), female non-parents (aOR) 0.61, 95 % CI [0.56-0.66]), and male non-parents (aOR 0.45, 95 % CI (0.41-0.48) after adjusting for age, race, ethnicity, education, insurance, income, primary care provider status, and influenza vaccine status. When compared to male parents, in the adjusted models, male non-parents had lower odds of Tdap vaccination (aOR 0.69 (0.63-0.76)), while there was no difference in odds of Tdap vaccination for female non-parents (aOR 0.94 (0.86-1.04). Differences in Tdap vaccination by parental status and sex may be associated with parent-directed counseling by health care providers and routine Tdap vaccination during prenatal care for pregnant women. Efforts focused on education and vaccine administration for parents, particularly male parents, has potential to improve vaccination rates and increase neonatal protection.