1. COVID-19 vaccine uptake among non-US-born populations in the United States, 2020–2022.
- Author
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Nolan, Margaret B., Chrenka, Ella, Walker, Patricia, Steiner, Abigail, Rodrigues, Kristine Knuti, Michel, Jeremy J., Yun, Katherine, Payton, Colleen, Young, Janine, Mamo, Blain, Frumholtz, Mateo, and DeSilva, Malini
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VACCINATION status , *REFUGEE children , *COVID-19 , *COVID-19 vaccines , *BOOSTER vaccines , *VACCINATION coverage - Abstract
• In the United States (US), COVID-19 vaccination rates among non-US-born individuals are variable, but understanding them is critical to identifying disparities. • Among over 1.5 million patients eligible for COVID-19 vaccination at 4 health systems across the US, completion of the primary vaccination series was lower in patients with a language preference other than English (62.7 %) compared with English preferring patients (63.6 %). • Though completion of the primary series was higher for non-US-born persons compared with US born persons, completion of a booster dose was lower for non-US-born persons, refugees, and patients with language preference other than English compared with their counterparts. • Requirements for COVID-19 primary vaccination for entry into the US may have played a role in the higher completion of primary COVID-19 series vaccines among refugee, immigrant and migrant populations. • The lower rate of booster uptake among newcomer populations is worthy of further attention. In the United States (US), COVID-19 vaccination rates among non-US-born individuals (i.e., refugees, immigrants, and migrants [RIM]) are variable. Understanding baseline COVID-19 vaccine coverage among these populations and determining if disparities exist is essential for quality improvement initiatives and public health interventions. Baseline COVID-19 vaccination rates for both primary series and booster doses were calculated at four health systems located in Minnesota, Colorado, and Pennsylvania participating in the Minnesota Department of Health's Center of Excellence in Newcomer Health. Patients aged ≥5 years as of 1/1/22, seen for ≥1 primary care visit during 7/1/2019–6/30/22 were included. Descriptive statistics were calculated for three measures of COVID-19 vaccine coverage during 12/14/2020–6/30/2022: 1) initiation of primary series; 2) completion of primary series; 3) completion of first booster. We calculated vaccine coverage rates for the entire population and stratified by subgroup including country of origin, refugee status, and primary language preference. We included 1,624,573 patients eligible for COVID-19 primary series vaccine and 907,749 eligible for COVID-19 booster vaccination. The percent of eligible patients who completed a COVID-19 primary series (63.4 %) and booster dose (66.2 %) were similar. Completion of the primary series was higher for non-US-born persons (72.7 %) compared with US born persons (65.4 %), similar among refugees (63.5 %) and non-refugees (63.4 %), and lower in patients with language preference other than English (62.7 %) compared with English preferring patients (63.6 %). Booster completion was lower for non-US-born persons (61.8 %), refugees (46.7 %), and patients with language preference other than English (55.3 %) compared with US-born (70 %), non-refugees (66.3 %), and English preferring patients (67.3 %) respectively. This evaluation identified disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates among non-US-born persons and persons with a language preference other than English living in the US. Targeted outreach efforts may be beneficial in reaching these populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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