Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Management of the Vaccination Campaign in a Population of Frail Older Outpatients: A Pilot Study in Italy

Nicola Veronese
* ORCID logo ,
Francesco Saverio Ragusa
,
Pascal Titone
,
Laura Vernuccio
,
Giuseppina Catanese
,
Maria Angela Randazzo
,
Mario Palermo
,
Giovanna Di Bella
,
Pasquale Mansueto
ORCID logo ,
Ligia J Dominguez
,
Mario Barbagallo
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 2 April 2024 / Approved: 2 April 2024 / Online: 3 April 2024 (12:02:40 CEST)

How to cite: Veronese, N.; Ragusa, F.S.; Titone, P.; Vernuccio, L.; Catanese, G.; Randazzo, M.A.; Palermo, M.; Di Bella, G.; Mansueto, P.; Dominguez, L.J.; Barbagallo, M. Management of the Vaccination Campaign in a Population of Frail Older Outpatients: A Pilot Study in Italy. Preprints 2024, 2024040207. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.0207.v1 Veronese, N.; Ragusa, F.S.; Titone, P.; Vernuccio, L.; Catanese, G.; Randazzo, M.A.; Palermo, M.; Di Bella, G.; Mansueto, P.; Dominguez, L.J.; Barbagallo, M. Management of the Vaccination Campaign in a Population of Frail Older Outpatients: A Pilot Study in Italy. Preprints 2024, 2024040207. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.0207.v1

Abstract

Vaccination, particularly against pneumoccus and influenza, is a low-cost primary prevention, useful to avoid hard complications, particularly among frail older people. In this study, we aimed to assess the effect of a strategy for influenza and pneumococcal vaccination for outpatients, never practiced before, evaluating what could stimulate or demotivate vaccination among older people. This study was conducted during the 2023-2024 influenza season at the outpatient clinics of the Geriatrics section, University Hospital of Palermo (Italy). A total of 101 vaccinations were carried out. Half of the patients could be considered as pre-frail and about 20% frail, according to a comprehensive geriatric evaluation. Among participants, 46.3% received only vaccination against Pneumococcus and 26.8% only anti-influenza or the combination of anti-pneumococcus and anti-influenza. Compared with the previous seasons, a 19.5% increase of influenza and 90.2 % of pneumococcal vaccine uptake was observed. Side effects of vaccination were the main reason of the previous rejections, namely 74.8% for influenza and 29.5% for anti-pneumococcal vaccination. In conclusion, our study indicates how a new vaccination strategy in different settings is possible. Proposing influenza and pneumococcal vaccination for outpatients could be an effective instrument to improve immunization coverage that is still low among older people.

Keywords

 vaccination; influenza; pneumococcus; older people; outpatients

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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