Attitudes of elite athletes and their support staff to the influenza vaccine
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Attitudes of elite athletes and their support staff to the influenza vaccine Frank O’ Leary 1
&
James O’ Donovan 1
Received: 18 June 2020 / Accepted: 15 October 2020 # Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland 2020
Abstract Background Influenza is an important public health issue, even amongst healthy adults. Uptake rates of the influenza vaccine amongst elite athletes vary and can depend on the attitudes of their coaches, fellow athletes and support staff. International studies have documented a fear amongst elite athletes to the potential side effects of the vaccine. Aims Determine the influenza vaccine uptake rates in elite Irish athletes and their support staff along with attitudes, fears and barriers to receiving it. Methods A cross-sectional survey was performed in the Sport Ireland Institute. Elite athletes and support staff from the 2019 database were invited to participate via an anonymous online survey. The database included a variety of sports, e.g. athletics, boxing, cycling, rowing, swimming and para-athletics. Results From 218 athletes and staff invited, 39% (n = 87 [43 male, 44 female]) responded to the online survey. Fifty-nine percent (n = 51) of participants received the influenza vaccine during the 2018/2019 season. Forty-six percent (n = 40) completely agree that the influenza vaccine is safe. Fourteen percent (n = 12) of participants believe the vaccine causes influenza. “Getting sick” from the vaccine was the biggest fear for participants. Athletes were least likely to recommend the influenza vaccine to others and most likely to fear missing time from training or work as a result of it. Conclusions Elite Irish athletes are vulnerable to contracting influenza annually, despite free access to immunisation. Barriers to receiving the vaccine include location access, education and fear of side effects. Keywords Athlete . Attitude . Immunisation . Influenza . Vaccination
Introduction Seasonal Influenza outbreaks are well documented as a hazard of major sporting events. Accounting for the close proximity of personnel within the athlete village during the 1988 Winter Olympics, the effects of the virus were so widespread that sports physicians called for influenza vaccination of all athletes prior to any future major games [1, 2]. However, further outbreaks were seen at the 2002 Winter Olympics and again at the 2010 games in Vancouver in spite of the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control advising vaccination for all athletes as an infection control measure against the H1N1
* Frank O’ Leary [email protected] 1
Sport Ireland Institute, National Sports Campus, Abbotstown, Dublin 15, Ireland
pandemic prevalent at that time [3, 4]. In fact, during the same pandemic, contingency plans were established prior to the Asian Youth Games in Singapore in 2009; such was the predicted effect of a further influenza outbreak [5, 6]. There is evidence that elite athletes, for a myriad of reasons, are more susceptible to influenza compared with their non-athletic counterparts [7
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