Influenza Vaccination Coverage During Pregnancy - Selected Sites, United States, 2005-06 Through 2013-14 Influenza Vaccine Seasons.

Seasonal influenza vaccine is recommended for all pregnant women because of their increased risk for influenza-associated complications. In addition, receipt of influenza vaccine by women during pregnancy has been shown to protect their infants for several months after birth (1). As part of its case-control surveillance study of medications and birth defects, the Birth Defects Study of the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University has recorded data on vaccinations received during pregnancy since the 2005-06 influenza vaccination season. Among the 5,318 mothers of infants without major structural birth defects (control newborns) in this population, seasonal influenza vaccination coverage was approximately 20% in the seasons preceding the 2009-10 pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) influenza season. During the 2009-10 influenza vaccination season, influenza vaccination coverage among pregnant women increased to 33%, and has increased modestly since then, to 41% during the 2013-14 season. Among pregnant women who received influenza vaccine during the 2013-14 season, 80% reported receiving their vaccine in a traditional health care setting, (e.g., the office of their obstetrician or primary care physician or their prenatal clinic) and 20% received it in a work/school, pharmacy/supermarket, or government setting. Incorporating routine administration of seasonal influenza vaccination into the management of pregnant women by their health care providers might increase coverage with this important public health intervention.