• Fleur Webster, Heather Gidding, Veronica Matthews, Richard Taylor, and Robert Menzies.
• School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of NSW, New South Wales.
• Aust N Z J Public Health. 2019 Dec 1; 43 (6): 558-562.

ObjectivesTo describe and compare vaccination coverage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter referred to as Indigenous) adults in 2004-05 and 2012-13, including the impact of national vaccination funding initiatives.MethodsNational Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health cross-sectional surveys - 2004-05 (n=5,757) and 2012-13 (n=5,482) - were compared. Self-reported influenza and pneumococcal vaccination coverage among Indigenous adults was analysed by age, remoteness, gender and risk factor status.ResultsInfluenza vaccination coverage among Indigenous adults in 2004-05 and 2012-13 remained low. While coverage increased for those aged 18-49 years from 23% to 29%, it declined for those aged ≥65 years from 84% to 74%. For remote areas, influenza coverage among those aged 50-64 years declined from 76% to 66%. Pneumococcal vaccination coverage remained very low and declined across all age groups in 2004-05 and 2012-13 (50-64 years: 30% to 23%). For remote areas, pneumococcal coverage declined among those aged 50-64 years from 52% to 32%.ConclusionsIndigenous adult vaccination coverage for influenza and pneumococcal disease remains unacceptably low. Between 2004-05 and 2012-13, declines occurred in pneumococcal vaccination coverage across all age groups ≥18 years. Despite national funding of influenza vaccine in 2010, there was no increase in influenza coverage, except for the 18-49-year age group. Implications for public health: Current approaches to promote, deliver and monitor vaccination of Indigenous adults are inadequate.© 2019 The Authors.

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