Decline in Receipt of Vaccines by Medicare Beneficiaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, 2020.

Decline in Receipt of Vaccines by Medicare Beneficiaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021 Feb 19;70(7):245-249 Authors: Hong K, Zhou F, Tsai Y, Jatlaoui TC, Acosta AM, Dooling KL, Kobayashi M, Lindley MC Abstract On March 13, 2020, the United States declared a national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak (1). In response, many state and local governments issued shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, restricting nonessential activities outside residents' homes (2). CDC initially issued guidance recommending postponing routine adult vaccinations, which was later revised to recommend continuing to administer routine adult vaccines (3). In addition, factors such as disrupted operations of health care facilities and safety concerns regarding exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, resulted in delay or avoidance of routine medical care (4), likely further affecting delivery of routine adult vaccinations. Medicare enrollment and claims data of Parts A (hospital insurance), B (medical insurance), and D (prescription drug insurance) were examined to assess the change in receipt of routine adult vaccines during the pandemic. Weekly receipt of four vaccines (13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine [PCV13], 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine [PPSV23], tetanus-diphtheria or tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis vaccine [Td/Tda...
Source: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Source Type: research