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COVID-19

Complementary Medicine Use Not Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in US Adults, Study Reveals

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A recent study investigating the relationship between complementary medicine (CM) use and COVID-19 vaccination uptake in a nationally representative US sample has found that overall use of CM was not significantly associated with COVID-19 vaccination uptake. However, the study did reveal that individuals who visited chiropractors were less likely to receive COVID-19 and flu vaccines. The study used data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey to analyze the associations between CM use and vaccination uptake.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study investigated the association between complementary medicine (CM) use and COVID-19 vaccination uptake in a nationally representative US sample.
  • Overall use of CM was not significantly associated with COVID-19 vaccination uptake (p = 0.745).
  • However, vaccination uptake was lower for both COVID-19 and flu vaccines in individuals who visited chiropractors (AOR = 0.78, 95% CI [0.69, 0.89], p = 0.01).
  • The pattern of associations between CM use and COVID-19 vaccination uptake was comparable to that of flu vaccination uptake.
  • The study used data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey and was conducted by researchers at University Hospital Tubingen.
  • The research was published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine in 2025.

Statistics:

  • 95% CI (0.69, 0.89) indicates the 95% confidence interval for the association between chiropractor visits and vaccination uptake.
  • p = 0.01 indicates the p-value for the association between chiropractor visits and vaccination uptake.
  • 0.745 indicates the p-value for the association between overall CM use and COVID-19 vaccination uptake.
  • 2022 indicates the year in which the National Health Interview Survey data was collected.

Sources:

Frontiers in Medicine. Use of complementary medicine and uptake of COVID-19 vaccination among US adults. Frontiers in Medicine, 2025, 12. (http://www.frontiersin.org/medicine)

Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA. Data on COVID-19 Discussed by Researchers at University Hospital Tubingen (Use of complementary medicine and uptake of COVID-19 vaccination among US adults). Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA. June 29, 2025; p 36.

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