Assessment of vaccination rates and attitudes toward pneumococcal, influenza, and COVID-19 vaccines among asthmatic patients and adults aged 65 years and older without asthma

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the vaccination rates and attitudes toward pneumococcal, influenza, and COVID-19 vaccines in asthmatic patients and individuals aged 65 years and older without asthma. Methods: The study was planned as a prospective observational study between September 15, 2023, and November 15, 2023. The study included a total of 220 outpatient patients, comprising asthma-diagnosed patients who visited the Pulmonology and Family Medicine outpatient clinics at Ankara Traning and Research Hospital, Health Sciences University, and 65-year-old adults without asthma. An informed consent form was completed by asthma patients and individuals aged 65 years and older without asthma who agreed to participate in the study. A questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was administered to these participants. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the asthma patients who participated in the study, 75 (59.1%) were female and 35 (37.6%) were male. The mean age of the asthma patients was 48.93±11.03. Of the outpatient patients aged 65 years and older without asthma who participated in the study, 52 (40.9%) were female and 58 (62.4%) were male. The mean age was 72.08±4.97. Patients aged 65 years and older with asthma were excluded from the study. The average age of the 65-year-old and older outpatient patients without asthma who participated in the survey was statistically significantly higher than that of the asthma patient group. The influenza vaccination rate among asthma patients who participated in the survey was 30.3%, the pneumococcal vaccination rate was 27.4%, and the rate of COVID-19 vaccination was 83.6%. Among the 65-year-old and older outpatient patients without asthma who participated in the survey, the influenza vaccination rate was 69.7%, the pneumococcal vaccination rate was 72.6%, and the COVID-19 vaccination rate was 99%. There was a statistically significant difference between asthmatic patients and outpatient patients aged 65 years and older in terms of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates. Conclusion: Vaccination rates for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines were found to be very low among asthmatic patients and outpatients over the age of 65 without asthma, while COVID-19 vaccination rates were found to be high in both groups. We believe that providing adequate information to family physicians and other healthcare providers who examine asthma patients and individuals aged 65 and older about the benefits and potential side effects of influenza vaccines, as well as publishing news articles in the media highlighting the importance of vaccination for high-risk individuals, could help increase vaccination rates.