OBJECTIVES: Older adults (age 65 years +) are at greater risk of influenza-associated deaths. However, the older adult influenza vaccination (IV) rates continue to fall below the 90% target set by the Healthy People 2020; little is known about how locations at which US older adults received IVs varied across years. This study assessed (1) older adult IV coverage and (2) locations at which US older adults received IVs from the year 2009 to 2013.

METHODS: Data from the 2009 to 2013 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) were used in this analysis. The sample included older Medicare beneficiaries residing in the community setting who completed a community survey questionnaire. The weighted annual estimates of older adult IV coverage and weighted estimates of vaccinated older adults who used various locations to receive the IV were reported.

RESULTS: The self-reported older adult IV coverage ranged from 24.26 million (69.51%) to 28.26 million (74.42%) across the study years from 2009 to 2013. The most common location for receiving the IV was a physician office and/or clinic (mean: 53.88%) followed by a retail pharmacy (mean: 25.33%). Older adults receiving the IV at a retail pharmacy substantially increased from 4.11 million (16.66%) in 2009 to 8.69 million (30.76%) in 2013.

CONCLUSIONS: A retail pharmacy, as an access point for the IV, contributed to the growth in the older adult IV coverage over the study period. Future research could examine how a pharmacy as a location for the receipt of IV could be leveraged for various groups of older adults.