An empirical study on the effect of influenza vaccination on the prevention of school absence among primary and secondary school students
10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2024376
- VernacularTitle:接种流感疫苗对中小学生缺课预防效果实证研究
- Author:
LI Wu, LIU Lanlan, TAN Huiling, JIANG Yawen, CHEN Wanyi, ZHUANG Chunyan, XIE Yuanna, XIE Xu, LI Gang
1
Author Information
1. Department of Immunization Programme Management,Shenzhen Longgang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shenzhen (518172) , Guangdong Province, China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Influenza vaccines;
Vaccination;
Absenteeism;
Regression analysis;
Students
- From:
Chinese Journal of School Health
2024;45(12):1775-1779
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To evaluate the preventive effect of implementing the free influenza vaccination policy on school absence among primary and secondary school students, so as to provide a reference for formulating and adjusting vaccination strategies.
Methods:Among primary and secondary school students aged 6 to 18 in Longgang District, Shenzhen, they were divided into a vaccinated group (265 996 students) and an unvaccinated group (122 513 students) according to their influenza vaccination history during November 2023. Propensity score matching was used to conduct a 1∶1 match between the two groups to balance covariates. The number of absences per month was set as the dependent variable to construct a difference in differences model, and Poisson regression was employed to analyze the overall and multi time point effects.
Results:Vaccination against influenza was associated with low rate of absenteeism among primary and secondary school students, with an overall preventive effect of 26.52% (95% CI = 23.47% -29.45%). The preventive effects in November (the month of vaccination) and December 2023, January and March 2024 were 42.12%, 40.12%, 30.33% and 20.91%, respectively. The preventive effect of the influenza vaccine on absenteeism among primary school students (26.39%) was not significantly different from that among secondary school students ( 27.97% ) ( P >0.05). The regression coefficient for class vaccination rates ranged from 0.998 to 0.999 ( P <0.01), indicating that for every 10% increase in influenza vaccination rates, absenteeism could be reduced by 1.5% to 2.2%.
Conclusion:Implementing free influenza vaccination for primary and secondary school students might help to reduce the risk of absenteeism, yielding significant socioeconomic benefits.
