Safety and acceptability of pneumococcal vaccinations administered in nontraditional settings.
BACKGROUND
Concerns about the safety and acceptability of vaccine administration in nontraditional settings might leave patients and their providers reluctant to take advantage of nontraditional settings for immunizations.


METHODS
Elderly persons who received pneumococcal vaccinations in these settings were surveyed with a structured questionnaire. They were asked about local and systemic symptoms during the postvaccination week versus a comparison time period.


RESULTS
Of the 1136 people included in the convenience sample, 636 responded (56%). Systemic symptoms were generally at similar or lower rates for the postvaccination week versus the comparison week, although fever was more common during the postvaccination week (3% vs 0.3%; P <.01). After vaccination 23.1% had any local symptom (soreness, redness, or swelling). Subjects who had been previously vaccinated were more likely to report local redness or swelling than were first-time vaccine recipients or people who were unsure of their vaccination status (13.1% vs 4.4% vs 1.4%, respectively; P =.001). In multivariate analyses, local symptoms were strongly associated with fever after vaccination (adjusted odds ratio, 13.15; P <.001), and revaccination was strongly associated with local symptoms (adjusted odds ratio, 3.77; P <.001). One hundred percent of respondents were very or somewhat satisfied with their experience, and >99% would recommend a nontraditional setting to a friend or family member.


CONCLUSIONS
Nontraditional settings offer a safe and highly satisfactory option for the administration of pneumococcal vaccinations to the elderly.
D'heilly
Sarah
S
Medicine Service and Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, VA Medical Center and Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55417, USA.
Bauman
Wendy L
WL
Nichol
Kristin L
KL
D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines