Public Views of H1N1 Vaccine – Update
FIELD DATES: January 20-24, 2010
SELECT FINDINGS:
- Americans’ beliefs about the H1N1 flu outbreak – Almost half of Americans believed the H1N1 flu outbreak was over (44%), and levels of concern about getting sick with the virus continued to decline. Few (18%) thought it was “very likely” there would be another widespread outbreak of the H1N1 virus in the U.S. during the next 12 months, although a larger share of the population (43%) said such an outbreak was “somewhat likely.”
- H1N1 vaccine uptake – More than half of parents (53%) either got the vaccine for their children (40%) or intended to get it before the end of February 2010 (13%). Among adults, 37% either got the H1N1 vaccine for themselves (21%) or intended to do so before February ends (16%). The poll also revealed a substantial share of adults who said they have not gotten the vaccine and did not intend to (61%).
- Shortage of H1N1 vaccine – After an initial period of vaccine shortage, 70% of adults said there was currently enough vaccine in their community for everyone who wanted it, which was significantly more than in December (48%) or November (21%). However, 12% thought there was still a shortage in their community.
- Satisfaction with public health response – A majority of adults (59%) rated the overall response of public health officials to the H1N1 outbreak as “excellent” or “good.” Conversely, 39% rated the overall response as “fair” or “poor.” In the view of more than half of adults (54%), public health officials spent “the right amount” of attention on the H1N1 flu outbreak, but 26% said they spent “too much” attention, and 16% said they spent “too little.”
METHODS AND SAMPLE: Telephone poll conducted with a nationally representative sample of 1,419 respondents age 18 and older, including 377 parents. The sample included 130 Hispanics and 160 African Americans.
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