A new study has tied a 10% increase in influenza vaccinations to significant reductions in antibiotic prescribing rates.
Investigators analyzed outpatient antibiotic prescribing rates and flu vaccinations from January to March each year from 2010 to 2017. When vaccination coverage increased by 10%, overall antibiotic use dropped by 6.5%, they reported. This included a 5.2% reduction among the elderly.
Fewer or less severe flu infections likely translates to fewer transmissions, doctor visits, and antibiotic prescriptions, wrote study first author Eili Klein, from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, Washington, D.C., and Johns Hopkins University.
Peak antibiotic prescribing occurs during flu season in the United States, according to the investigators. And total inappropriate antibiotic use in the outpatient setting may approach 50%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Expanding influenza vaccination could be an important intervention to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing,” the authors concluded.
The study was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
