The Association of Vaccination for Common Adult Infectious Diseases and Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccines among 5,006,851 Veterans, 20 December 2020-31 October 2021

Brady W Bennett; Lawrence S Phillips; Julie A Gazmararian

doi:10.3390/vaccines12020145

The Association of Vaccination for Common Adult Infectious Diseases and Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccines among 5,006,851 Veterans, 20 December 2020-31 October 2021

Vaccines (Basel). 2024 Jan 30;12(2):145. doi: 10.3390/vaccines12020145.

Authors

Brady W Bennett¹, Lawrence S Phillips^{2

3}, Julie A Gazmararian¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
² Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA 30033, USA.
³ Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.

Abstract

Disparities in vaccination coverage for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States (U.S.) are consistent barriers limiting our ability to control the spread of disease, particularly those by age and race/ethnicity. This study examines the association between previous vaccination for common adult infectious diseases and vaccination for SARS-CoV-2 among a cohort of veterans in the U.S. Sociodemographic and clinical data were utilized from three databases within the Veterans Health Administration included in the electronic health record. We examined the association of previous vaccination for common adult vaccinations through six separate multivariable logistic regression analyses, one for each previous vaccine exposure, adjusting for demographic and clinical variables. We also examined the association of receiving any one of the six common adult vaccinations and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Adjusted models indicate higher odds of vaccination for SARS-CoV-2 among those who received each of the previous vaccinations. Significant differences were also noted by race/ethnicity and age. Veterans who recorded receiving any one of the previous vaccinations for common adult infections had significantly greater odds of receiving any vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Understanding veterans' previous vaccination status can assist researchers and clinicians in impacting the uptake of novel vaccines, such as vaccination against SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; vaccination; vaccine uptake; veterans.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number UL1TR002378. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. LSP is supported in part by VA awards CSP #2008, I01 CX001899, I01 CX001737, and I01 BX005831; NIH awards R01 DK127083, R21 AI156161, UL1 TR002378, and U18DP006711; and a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation award PHILLI12A0. LSP is also supported in part by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This work is not intended to reflect the official opinion of the VA or of the U.S. government. The sponsors had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.