American journal of preventive medicine
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Seasonal influenza vaccination among older adults is well below the recommendation of Healthy People 2020. Although geographic disparities in influenza vaccination are well documented, it remains unclear how community attributes correlate with influenza vaccination rates. Social vulnerability measures play an important role in interventions addressing vaccine equity; however, social vulnerability dimensions as corollaries of vaccination are poorly understood. To inform vaccine equity interventions, this analysis investigates spatially varying associations between county social vulnerability and influenza vaccination rate among Medicare recipients. ⋯ Medicare recipients in socioeconomically vulnerable counties have low influenza vaccination rates, particularly in select regions of the country. Best practices to improve vaccine access and uptake should be targeted and should explicitly consider local socioeconomic vulnerability.