Many Not Up to Date With Vaccines Would Accept Shots During ED Visits

MONDAY, Aug. 11, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Many individuals who are not up to date with recommended vaccinations would accept vaccines if offered during an emergency department visit, according to research published in the Aug. 7 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Robert M. Rodriguez, M.D., from the University of California Riverside School of Medicine, and colleagues surveyed non-critically ill adult patients evaluated in 10 emergency departments in eight U.S. cities across five states to ascertain patients” vaccination knowledge, self-reported vaccination coverage, and willingness to receive vaccines in an emergency department. A total of 3,285 patients agreed to participate.

The researchers found that 49.4 percent of participants had not heard of one or more CDC recommended vaccines for their age groups; 85.9 percent had not received one or more recommended vaccines. Non-Hispanic Black race and ethnicity, lack of primary health care, and lack of health insurance were factors associated with not being up to date with recommended vaccinations (adjusted odds ratios, 1.93, 2.91, and 3.01, respectively). Overall, 46.4 percent of 2,821 participants who were not up to date with recommended vaccinations said they would accept one or more missing vaccines if they could be provided during the emergency department visit; 86.7 percent would accept all missing vaccines. The participant being unaware of or not having been offered the vaccines was the primary reason for missed vaccine doses.

“Emergency departments could be explored as additional sites to offer vaccination screening, recommendations, counseling, and referrals to increase vaccine coverage among underserved populations,” the authors write.

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