Exploring Perceptions and Practices Regarding Adult Vaccination against Seasonal Influenza, Tetanus, Pneumococcal Disease, Herpes Zoster and COVID-19: A Mixed-Methods Study in Greece

• Published in: Vaccines (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 80
• Main Authors: Avramidis, Iordanis, Pagkozidis, Ilias, Domeyer, Philippe-Richard J, Papazisis, Georgios, Tirodimos, Ilias, Dardavesis, Theodoros, Tsimtsiou, Zoi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.01.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: adult vaccination; Attitudes; Content analysis; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; Drug stores; Evaluation; Herpes zoster; herpes zoster vaccine; Immunization; Influenza; influenza vaccine; Management; Medical personnel; Negligence; Pandemics; Perceptions; pneumococcal vaccine; Public health; Public health administration; Tetanus; tetanus vaccine; Vaccination; Vaccine efficacy; vaccine hesitancy; Vaccines; Greece; COVID-19; Greece; predictors; vaccine hesitancy; adult vaccination; influenza vaccine; mixed methods; herpes zoster vaccine; pneumococcal vaccine; tetanus vaccine
• ISSN: 2076-393X; 2076-393X
• DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12010080

We aimed to document vaccination coverage for five vaccines, predictors of each vaccine's uptake and attitudes regarding adult vaccination. Adults visiting four pharmacies were randomly invited to participate during summer 2022. Among 395 participants (mean age 51.2 years, range 19-96), vaccination rates were 78.1% for influenza and 25.8% for herpes zoster (≥60 years old), 64.3% for pneumococcal disease (≥65 years old), 33.1% for tetanus, while 11.4% had received two and 74.8% ≥3 COVID-19 vaccine doses. Half of participants (50.1%) voiced some degree of hesitancy, and 1.3% were refusers. The strongest predictor of each vaccine's uptake was doctor's recommendation (OR range 11.33-37.66, < 0.001) and pharmacist's recommendation (4.01-19.52, < 0.05), except for the COVID-19 vaccine, where the Attitude Towards Adult VACcination (ATAVAC) value of adult vaccination subscale's score was the only predictor (OR: 5.75, < 0.001). Regarding insufficient coverage, thematic content analysis revealed seven main themes. Insufficient knowledge, the absence of health professionals' recommendation, perception of low susceptibility to disease, negligence and dispute of vaccine effectiveness were universal themes, whereas safety concerns and distrust in authorities were reported solely for COVID-19 vaccination. Designing public interventions aiming to increase trust in adult vaccination is essential in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health professionals' role in recommending strongly adult vaccination is crucial.