Objective:

To evaluate the impact of a targeted antenatal intervention on the uptake of seasonal influenza and pertussis vaccination among pregnant women in Greece.

Approach:

• Study Design: A prospective comparative study conducted at the University Hospital of Ioannina during two influenza seasons (2022–2023 and 2024–2025).
• Intervention: Structured provider-initiated counselling with an informational leaflet was introduced in Period B, contrasting with informal counselling in Period A.
• Data Collection: Data on counselling receipt, vaccination status, reasons for non-vaccination, and maternal characteristics were collected.
• Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data.

Key Findings:

• Vaccination rates for influenza and pertussis increased significantly during the structured counselling period, as evidenced by the data collected.
• The intervention led to a higher frequency of documented antenatal vaccination counselling, with specific metrics to support this.
• Reasons for vaccine refusal and factors associated with maternal vaccine uptake were identified through participant responses.

Interpretation:

The structured antenatal counselling intervention was associated with improved vaccination rates among pregnant women, as indicated by the study's findings.

Limitations:

• Vaccinations administered outside the hospital could not be independently verified, which may lead to underreporting of vaccination rates.
• The study was limited to a single hospital setting, which may affect the generalizability of the findings to other regions or healthcare systems.

Conclusion:

The study demonstrates that enhanced antenatal counselling can effectively increase vaccination rates for influenza and pertussis among mothers in Greece.