Nudging the Needle — Strategies to Boost Influenza Vaccination Uptake

Seasonal influenza has been preliminarily estimated to have caused 610,000 to 1,300,000 hospitalizations and 27,000 to 130,000 deaths in the United States during the most recent flu season.1 Vaccination can improve survival, particularly among high-risk groups such as patients with cardiovascular disease.2 However, flu vaccine rates have declined recently, with less than half of eligible adults in the United States vaccinated in the 2023–2024 flu season.3 Public health agencies, health systems, and employers invest resources to improve vaccination rates through financial incentives, patient education and engagement, and mobile delivery sites, all of which require funding, which is particularly challenging in an environment where public support for vaccination is decreasing.