{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,10]],"date-time":"2026-05-10T05:09:41Z","timestamp":1778389781034,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]],"date-time":"2026-05-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778198400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Moderna Inc."}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Vaccines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: We still do not clearly know whether COVID-19 continues to impose a greater clinical burden than influenza in the \u201cpost-pandemic\u201d era. Our study quantified and compared monthly COVID-19 and influenza hospitalization incidence among adult subgroups from October 2022 through December 2024. We assessed vaccine coverage trends and examined vaccination status among those hospitalized. Methods: Using the Veradigm linked claims and electronic health record dataset, we conducted a non-interventional, retrospective cohort study; three monthly cohorts included individuals aged 65+, high-risk (HR) adults (defined as adults 18+ with HR conditions and\/or aged 65+), and adults aged 50\u201364 years who were enrolled with both medical and pharmacy coverage. We estimated monthly cumulative incidence of COVID-19 and influenza-related hospitalizations, vaccination coverage rates, and the proportion of hospitalized individuals who had received yearly updated vaccines. Results: COVID-19 hospitalizations consistently exceeded those of influenza across months and populations. Among adults aged 65+, COVID-19 hospitalization rates were 2\u20133 times higher than influenza in winter and 20\u201330 times higher during off-season months, with similar trends observed in high risk adults. COVID-19 incidence surged in summer, while influenza remained seasonally confined. Vaccination coverage for influenza peaked near 50% annually; COVID-19 coverage was lower, peaking at ~26% by December each year. Most hospitalizations occurred among unvaccinated individuals, particularly for COVID-19. Conclusions: COVID-19 continues to impose a substantial, year-round burden, particularly in older and high-risk adults, exceeding that of influenza. The high proportion of unvaccinated hospitalizations highlight a critical gap in prevention efforts and underscore the need for improved public health messaging and vaccine adoption.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines14050424","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]],"date-time":"2026-05-08T19:10:52Z","timestamp":1778267452000},"page":"424","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Incidence of COVID-19 and Influenza-Related Outcomes and Vaccinations in the United States, October 2022 Through December 2024"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Heather R.","family":"Hensler","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Moderna, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tianyi","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Moderna, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yoonyoung","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Moderna, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Machaon","family":"Bonafede","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Veradigm, Chicago, IL 60654, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7294-8162","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Isabelle","family":"Winer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Veradigm, Chicago, IL 60654, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Christopher","family":"Adams","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Veradigm, Chicago, IL 60654, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Keya","family":"Joshi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Moderna, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Amanda","family":"Wilson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Moderna, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2025, November 19). 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Rep."}],"container-title":["Vaccines"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-393X\/14\/5\/424\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,10]],"date-time":"2026-05-10T04:21:56Z","timestamp":1778386916000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-393X\/14\/5\/424"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]]},"references-count":28,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]}},"alternative-id":["vaccines14050424"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/vaccines14050424","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-393X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-393X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]]}}}