What Affected Primary Care Patients’ Decisions to Receive the Seasonal Influenza Vaccine in the 2020 to 2021 Season?

INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES: A primary care patient’s decision to undergo seasonal influenza vaccination may have been different during the global COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020 to 2021 season. The purpose of this study is to investigate what affected primary care patients’ decisions to undergo seasonal influenza vaccination in the 2020 to 2021 season. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a primary care clinic in Ibaraki, Japan. We used a purposive sampling strategy to reach individuals aged 20 years or older who underwent influenza vaccination. The transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients completed the interview. Two main themes emerged: the desire to avoid risks to one’s health and being a part a community in coexistence with others. The first theme included desire to avoid influenza and expectations that vaccination will prevent severe disease. The second theme included concerns about the consequences of one’s own influenza infection on others in the community and necessity of vaccination based on the surroundings and others. CONCLUSIONS: Raising awareness of risk factors such as older age and comorbidities, and the expectations of community members might be effective in promoting influenza vaccination.