Minorities With Low Income and Poor Education Receive Lower Uptake of PCV13

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SAN DIEGO — Low-educated and low-income minorities age 65 years or older who live in rural communities have lower uptakes of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13), according to a series of cross-sectional analyses presented at IDWeek 2017.

As the investigators explained, in fall 2014, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended PCV13 for all adults age ≥65 years. 

Prescription claims data were collected by QuintilesIMS, and the researchers evaluated specific sociodemographic data to determine the overall and subpopulation-level PCV13 uptake in older adults. Sociodemographic factors included household income, patients’ community/neighborhood, education status, and race and ethnicity.

Approximately 50% of adults age ≥65 years received PCV13 by February 2017. Black adults (39%) and Hispanics (32%) had lower uptake of PCV13 compared with whites (53%). In addition, adults in the lowest-income deciles had lower PCV13 uptake compared with those in the highest-income deciles (36% vs 64%, respectively). Patients without a high school education vs those who were college educated (37% vs 58%, respectively) as well as those living in rural (33%) and urban/inner city (41%) regions (vs 52% of patients residing in suburbs) also had lower PCV13 uptake (all: P <.001).

The ACIP is set to review existing recommendations for adult pneumococcal vaccinations in 2018; however, modifications may “cement these disparities in adult PCV13 uptake in the very communities at increased risk for pneumococcal disease.”

According to the investigators, “These vulnerable communities may instead benefit from targeted and tailored interventions to increase pneumococcal vaccination.”

Disclosures: All of the researchers are employees of Pfizer, Inc.

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Reference

McLaughlin J, Khan F, Curry A, Snow V, Isturiz R, Swerdlow D. Disparities in uptake of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine among older adults following routine recommendation in the United States. Presented at: ID Week 2017; October 4-8, 2017; San Diego, CA. Oral poster 1501.