The impact of vaccination strategy and methods of information on influenza and pneumococcal vaccination coverage in the elderly population.

We compared the coverage achieved with either an age-based, free-of-charge vaccination program offering influenza vaccine alone or with pneumococcal vaccine with a restricted risk disease-based influenza vaccination program supplemented by self-funded immunization. We also compared two means of informing the public, either using mailed personal reminders or through the mass media only. Forty-one administrative districts with a total of 41,500 persons aged 65 years or older participated in the study during three consecutive seasons from 1992 to 1994. The average vaccination coverage achieved by the risk disease-based program was 20%, by the age-based program with mass media information, 52%, and by the age-based program with mailed personal reminders 82%. The availability of free-of-charge vaccines is thus not sufficient to ensure a high vaccination rate. The effect of the personal reminders was restricted to the year they were sent. The addition of pneumococcal vaccine to the age-based influenza vaccination program had little influence on the acceptance rate.