Racial Disparities Still Prevalent for Influenza Vaccine Rates for Older Adults

A new study shows that older minorities are less likely to receive the influenza vaccine in the United States, reports HCPLive . A research team led by Salah Mahmud, Professor of Community Health Sciences and Pharmacy at the University of Manitoba, analyzed anonymized data from health care records of individuals in receipt of Medicare benefits between July 2015 and June 2016. They canvassed 26.5 million Medicare beneficiaries during the 2015-16 influenza seasons to determine that Asian-Americans (47.6 percent) African-Americans (32.6 percent), and Hispanics (29.1 percent) were less likely to receive a flu vaccine than Caucasians (49.4 percent). There were also inequities found in who was given the "more effective for individuals aged 65 and older High Dose Vaccine (or HDV)." More than half (53.8 percent) of the Caucasian individuals in this age demographic were so vaccinated compared to 40.3 percent of Asian-Americans, 41.1 percent of African-Americans, and 37.8 percent of Hispanic seniors.