Patterns and predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among United States active duty Service members, 2020-2022: Implications for future pandemics
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Introduction
Vaccine mandates have been used to minimize the duty days lost and deaths attributable to infectious disease among active duty Service members (ADSMs). In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, in August 2021, the United States Department of Defense issued a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all ADSMs. This study aimed to investigate COVID-19 vaccine uptake among the ADSM population, as well as factors associated with timing of COVID-19 vaccine receipt.
Methods
This study included ADSMs on active duty between 1/1/2020-6/30/2022. Univariate analyses investigated associations between demographic factors (age, sex, race, ethnicity, branch of service, rank, state of residence) and COVID-19 diagnosis with the following outcomes: 1) time to primary series initiation in relation to the DoD vaccine mandate, 2) time between doses of the two-dose primary series, and 3) time between booster eligibility and receipt
Results
A total of 1,799,466 ADSMs were included, with 90% receiving ≥1 COVID-19 vaccine dose during the study period and 77% initiating the primary series prior to the mandate. Over 80% of ADSMs received a complete primary series, with 96% of those adhering to the recommended regimen. History of COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with later receipt of all doses.
Conclusions
COVID-19 vaccine uptake was high among all ADSMs, with the majority initiating the primary series before the mandate. The high vaccine uptake among ADSMs shown here may be used as a guide to both military and civilian pandemic policy and outreach efforts related to enhanced vaccine uptake.
