Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates among persons with diabetes mellitus–United States, 1997

Vaccination is an important public health intervention for reducing morbidity and mortality from influenza and pneumonia among persons with diabetes. A national health objective for 2000 is to increase influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates to > or =60% among persons at high risk for complications from influenza and pneumonia, including persons with diabetes. Although the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that all persons with diabetes be vaccinated, data from the 1993 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) showed that 40% of persons with diabetes reported receiving an influenza vaccination within the previous year, and 21% reported ever receiving a pneumococcal vaccination. To assess the vaccination rates among persons with diabetes in 52 reporting areas (i.e., 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico), CDC and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) analyzed data from the 1997 BRFSS. This report summarizes the findings of this analysis, which indicate that most states did not reach the national health objectives for influenza and pneumococcal vaccination in their populations with diabetes.