Influenza Vaccination and COVID-19 Mortality in the USA: An Ecological Study.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 mortality rate is higher in the elderly and in those with pre-existing chronic medical conditions. The elderly also suffer from increased morbidity and mortality from seasonal influenza infections; thus, an annual influenza vaccination is recommended for them. In this study, we explore a possible county-level association between influenza vaccination coverage in people aged 65 years and older and the number of deaths from COVID-19. To this end, we used COVID-19 data up to 14 December 2020 and US population health data at the county level. We fit quasi-Poisson regression models using influenza vaccination coverage in the elderly population as the independent variable and the COVID-19 mortality rate as the outcome variable. We adjusted for an array of potential confounders using

SUBMITTER: Zanettini C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8145634 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature