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Women are more likely to get the flu vaccine while pregnant, data reveal​

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Today at 2:57 p.m.
Sarah Boden
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Influenza Vaccines

Pregnant people had more than twice the odds of receiving the flu vaccine than women who had not yet become pregnant, according to a study published last week in the American Journal of Public Health.

Researchers analyzed vaccine records from a health claims database owned by Optum, a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary. Specifically, they examined flu vaccine uptake among patients before, during, and after pregnancy from the 2017-18 respiratory virus season through the 2021-22 season.

The study also found that many women did not continue getting the flu vaccine after they gave birth. However, uptake was modestly higher compared with the pre-pregnancy period.

These findings suggest that prenatal care is a key opportunity to promote immunizations in ways that possibly sustain vaccine uptake after someone gives birth, write the authors, led by Xiaofan Liu, MPH, a health economist and PhD student at the University of Southern California.

Doctors more influential, accessible during pregnancy​

Higher vaccination rates during pregnancy might be driven by several factors, the authors theorize.

One, women have more access to healthcare while they're pregnant. Patients have frequent prenatal appointments, and many can afford this care, because nearly all state Medicaid programs have higher income-eligible thresholds for pregnant residents, making this taxpayer-funded insurance more accessible.

Second, previous research shows that clinician vaccine recommendations carry more weight during pregnancy. Regarding the flu shot, obstetricians encourage patients to get it because an infection can be more severe during pregnancy.

Third, moms-to-be may be more likely to get vaccinated for flu because their child will be born with maternal antibodies that protect against the virus.

Interestingly, vaccination rates for pregnant and postnatal patients dropped during the 2020–21 flu season, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers speculate that growing concerns about vaccine safety and vaccine hesitancy after the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the decrease.