Telephone survey assessment of household patterns of influenza vaccination, Twin Cities seven county metro area, 2008–2009

Major national surveys do not collect the influenza vaccination status of all household members, thus limiting current understanding of household influenza vaccination patterns. In an early 2009 telephone survey of 800 households in the metropolitan Minneapolis-St Paul area, household respondents reported the age, gender, and 2008–2009 seasonal influenza vaccination status of all household members. After poststratification to adjust for nonresponse, the full household influenza vaccination rate for multiperson households is 35.2%, partial household influenza vaccination rate is 39.9% and the rate of complete household nonvaccination is 24.9%. Full household influenza vaccination is more common in households with an elderly resident, intermediate in households with a child under 5 years of age, and less common in the remaining households. No household members are vaccinated in approximately 10% of multiperson households with either an elderly adult or young child; the corresponding rate in other households is 32.8%. An estimated 51.4% of households with children over 1 year of age have all children vaccinated against influenza; 43.5% of households with children had no children vaccinated against influenza. Households with younger children are more likely to have all children vaccinated and less likely to have no children vaccinated. We believe this is the first study to describe the prevalence of household influenza vaccination patterns. Continued efforts to monitor and increase household vaccination may be a valuable strategy to protect individuals and communities from influenza.