Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH Reports Findings in Vaccination (Prevalence of chronic conditions and influenza vaccination coverage rates in Germany: Results of a health insurance claims data analysis): Public Health – Vaccination

2022 OCT 19 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Public Health - Vaccination is the subject of a report. According to news reporting out of Berlin, Germany, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “The significant annual burden caused by seasonal influenza has led to global calls for increased influenza vaccination coverage rates (VCRs). We aimed to estimate the proportion of the German population at high risk of serious illness from influenza due to chronic conditions and to estimate age-specific VCRs of people with/without chronic conditions.”

Financial support for this research came from Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, “Using health insurance claims data covering nine influenza seasons (2010-2019), we assessed up to 7 million insured individuals per season across all German regions. Individuals were classified according to age and presence of chronic health conditions. VCRs were estimated using outpatient healthcare utilization documentation. In the 2018-2019 influenza season, 47.3% of individuals had 1 chronic condition. Most common were circulatory disorders, accounting for more than a third of individuals with 1 condition. Prevalence of chronic diseases, and therefore the proportion of high-risk individuals, increased slightly over time across most age groups. A downward trend in influenza VCRs was observed in all age groups until the 2017-2018 season, followed by a noticeable increase in the 2018-2019 season. Highest VCRs occurred among individuals of 60 years, with a 38.5% VCR for this age group in the 2018-2019 season. Several factors, including age, chronic condition type, and geographical location, affected VCRs. Influenza VCRs in individuals at high risk of severe complications from influenza infection are insufficient.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Our results suggest that intensified public health efforts are necessary to reach the World Health Organization vaccination coverage target of 75%.”

For more information on this research see: Prevalence of chronic conditions and influenza vaccination coverage rates in Germany: Results of a health insurance claims data analysis. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, 2022. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses can be contacted at: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - http://www.wiley.com/; Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1750-2659)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Anya Krefft, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, Berlin, Germany. Additional authors for this research include Oliver Damm, Jonas Ahlers, Rolf Kramer, Julian Witte, Manuel Batram, Jorg Schelling and Wolfgang Greiner.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/irv.13054. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the journal Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses is: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA.

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