Dispensing Patterns of Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccines in the Private Healthcare Sector in South Africa for 2017 to 2021: A Longitudinal Study.
The primary aim was to conduct a longitudinal pharmacoepidemiological study on the dispensing patterns of the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines in a section of the private healthcare sector in South Africa in the presence of the COVID-19 vaccine to document the dispensing of these two respiratory vaccines alongside COVID-19 vaccines.
A quantitative cross-sectional pharmacoepidemiological study on health insurance data covering 5 years (2017-2021) was conducted. The study population consisted of approximately 3.8 million individuals. Profile analysis was used to compare annual dispensing patterns of both vaccines. Ethical approval for the study was obtained.
The annual dispensing patterns of the pneumococcal and influenza vaccines differed significantly for the period 2017-2021 (p-value < 0.01), with the influenza vaccine dispensed most frequently from March to June. A similar pattern was observed for both the pre-COVID-19 period (2017-2019) (p-value < 0.01) and the post-COVID-19 period (2020-2021) (p-value < 0.01). At the 5% level of significance, there was a slight increase in the dispensing pattern of pneumococcal vaccines post-COVID-19, when compared to the dispensing pattern pre-COVID-19 (p-value < 0.05). For the period March to June, there was, however, a significant increase in the dispensing pattern of influenza vaccines post-COVID-19 (p-value < 0.01).
The presence of the COVID-19 vaccine has collectively not had a significant impact on the dispensing patterns of pneumococcal and influenza vaccines. When considering the vaccines separately, however, for the months between March and June, significantly more influenza vaccines were dispensed post-COVID-19.
A quantitative cross-sectional pharmacoepidemiological study on health insurance data covering 5 years (2017-2021) was conducted. The study population consisted of approximately 3.8 million individuals. Profile analysis was used to compare annual dispensing patterns of both vaccines. Ethical approval for the study was obtained.
The annual dispensing patterns of the pneumococcal and influenza vaccines differed significantly for the period 2017-2021 (p-value < 0.01), with the influenza vaccine dispensed most frequently from March to June. A similar pattern was observed for both the pre-COVID-19 period (2017-2019) (p-value < 0.01) and the post-COVID-19 period (2020-2021) (p-value < 0.01). At the 5% level of significance, there was a slight increase in the dispensing pattern of pneumococcal vaccines post-COVID-19, when compared to the dispensing pattern pre-COVID-19 (p-value < 0.05). For the period March to June, there was, however, a significant increase in the dispensing pattern of influenza vaccines post-COVID-19 (p-value < 0.01).
The presence of the COVID-19 vaccine has collectively not had a significant impact on the dispensing patterns of pneumococcal and influenza vaccines. When considering the vaccines separately, however, for the months between March and June, significantly more influenza vaccines were dispensed post-COVID-19.