As the H1N1 swine flu vaccine becomes increasingly available, 46 percent of adults who are considered by the CDC to be members of high priority groups plan to ignore the CDC's recommendation for vaccination. The Zogby International interactive survey also finds that the top reasons high risk adults plan to skip the vaccine include concern over the safety of the vaccine (38%) and a general sense that they simply do not need the vaccine (32%).
Similar percentages of all adults surveyed nationwide fear the safety of the vaccine (32%) and also feel they do not need the vaccine (30%). Sixty-two percent of adults surveyed plan to skip the H1N1 vaccine; lead by Republicans (74%) and independents (68%), who are much more likely than Democrats (45%) to skip the vaccine. Southerners (69%) are also more inclined than adults who live in other areas to skip the vaccine, about 10 points higher than adults in other regions. Adults who identify themselves as Born Again Christians are also more likely (69%) to skip the vaccine than non-Born Again Christians (55%).
Forty-seven percent of adults overall are very (16%) or somewhat (31%) concerned over nationwide vaccine delays and shortages. Of those who do not plan to get the vaccine, just 9% say they would be more likely to get the vaccine if they had a clearer understanding of when, where, and how the vaccine would be distributed. Only 28% of Americans who are not planning to get the H1N1 vaccine would reconsider their decision if a medical professional recommended they receive the vaccine. This is almost the same for those in the high priority groups, with 27% saying they would be more likely to be vaccinated if their medical professional recommended the vaccine. Twenty-one percent of adults in the high priority group would be more likely to seek the vaccination if family, friends, or coworkers became ill with H1N1.
This online survey of 2,330 adults was conducted by Zogby International between November 4th and 6th 2009. A sampling of Zogby International's online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the US, was invited to participate. Slight weights were added region, party, age, race, religion, gender, and education to more accurately reflect the population. The margin of error is +/- 2.1 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.
