Safety and acceptability of pneumococcal vaccinations administered in nontraditional settings

Background: Concerns about the safety and acceptability of vaccine administration in nontraditional settings might leave patients and their providers reluctant to take advantage of nontraditional settings for immunizations. Methods: Elderly persons who received pneumococcal vaccinations in these settings were surveyed with a structured questionnaire. They were asked about local and systemic symptoms during the postvaccination week versus a comparison time period. Results: Of the 1136 people included in the convenience sample, 636 responded (56%). Systemic symptoms were generally at similar or lower rates for the postvaccination week versus the comparison week, although fever was more common during the postvaccination week (3% vs 0.3%; P <.01). After vaccination 23.1% had any local symptom (soreness, redness, or swelling). Subjects who had been previously vaccinated were more likely to report local redness or swelling than were first-time vaccine recipients or people who were unsure of their vaccination status (13.1% vs 4.4% vs 1.4%, respectively; P = .001). In multivariate analyses, local symptoms were strongly associated with fever after vaccination (adjusted odds ratio, 13.15; P <.001), and revaccination was strongly associated with local symptoms (adjusted odds ratio, 3.77; P <.001). One hundred percent of respondents were very or somewhat satisfied with their experience, and >99% would recommend a nontraditional setting to a friend or family member. Conclusion: Nontraditional settings offer a safe and highly satisfactory option for the administration of pneumococcal vaccinations to the elderly. (Am J Infect Control 2002;30:261-8.)