2009–2010 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among College Students From 8 Universities in North Carolina

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to describe the 2009-2010 seasonal influenza vaccine coverage of college students. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 4,090 college students from 8 North Carolina universities participated in a confidential, Web-based survey in October-November 2009. METHODS: Associations between self-reported 2009-2010 seasonal influenza vaccination and demographic characteristics, campus activities, parental education, and e-mail usage were assessed by bivariate analyses and by a mixed-effects model adjusting for clustering by university. RESULTS: Overall, 20% of students (range 14%-30% by university) reported receiving 2009-2010 seasonal influenza vaccine. Being a freshman, attending a private university, having a college-educated parent, and participating in academic clubs/honor societies predicted receipt of influenza vaccine in the mixed-effects model. CONCLUSIONS: The self-reported 2009-2010 influenza vaccine coverage was one-quarter of the 2020 Healthy People goal (80%) for healthy persons 18 to 64 years of age. College campuses have the opportunity to enhance influenza vaccine coverage among its diverse student populations.