Evaluation of the Virginia Department of Health's H1N1 Flu Mitigation Efforts

Background: In the 2009-2010 flu season The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) began a program to manage the rollout of H1N1 vaccination, including identification of providers most likely to care for members of target groups for vaccination and targeted distribution of the vaccine to these providers, and an information campaign encouraging people to use non-ER sites for flu-related care. The impact of these efforts was assessed using health care claims and vaccine registry data. Methods: VDH collaborated with Anthem Virginia and HealthCore, Inc to track vaccination rates and health care utilization among Anthem members. Vaccination rates were tracked using claims and data from the Virginia Immunization Information System, and flu-related health care utilization was tracked from 2004-2010 using claims. Geo-coding by residence was performed to examine variation by health district. Results: 16.48% of members were vaccinated according to either claims or registry data. Most vaccinations (66.1%, October 2009) went to priority groups for vaccination. Geographic analyses illustrated wide variation in vaccination rates across health districts, from 12.66% to 20.76%. The percent of members in a given health district with a flu-related visit varied widely– from 9.7% to 33.5%. The percent of flu-related visits that took place at an ER remained constant across flu seasons. Discussion: VDH was effective in getting vaccines to priority groups. The lack of an increase in flu-visits that took place at an ER suggests that VDH's information campaign was effective. This evaluation identified health districts that may require more targeted efforts to increase vaccination rates.