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Poll: Majority of Americans unsure about – or opposed to – getting swine flu vaccine – MedCity Morning Read, Oct. 1, 2009

Only about one-third of Americans definitely plan to get the H1N1 flu vaccine, according to a new poll conducted by the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. Another 43 percent said their decision “would depend on how things go.”

By Sarah Latson on October 01, 2009
Image by alvi2047 via Flickr

Only about one-third of Americans definitely plan to get the H1N1 flu vaccine, according to a new poll conducted by the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center.

Another 43 percent said their decision “would depend on how things go,” the magazine stated Wednesday on its Web site.

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Indecision seems to extend to children, who are among the high-priority groups slated to receive the first vaccine doses. Half of the parents surveyed said they were unsure about whether to have their kids vaccinated. Another 14 percent said they definitely would not get their kids immunized, according to Consumer Reports.

The survey of 1,502 adults was conducted in the first week of September. Its results “underscore one of the main challenges facing the Obama administration as it readies a massive swine flu vaccination roll-out – how to persuade the most vulnerable people to protect themselves against the new virus,” Reuters reported.

In other vaccine news, Cleveland Clinic has announced that it will administer H1N1 flu shots for free when doses become available. Normally, hospitals charge a fee.

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