Many Parents Not Enthusiastic About Swine Flu (H1N1) Vaccine

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

With all of the clinical trials and logistics around vaccine delivery and discussion of one dose or two doses, it looks like an important factor might have been left out of the big vaccine strategic plan - the attitude and opinion of parents.

A national survey of 1,678 parents conducted by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital found that only 40% said that they would get their kids vaccinated against H1N1. Interestingly, a higher percentage - 54% - said that they would get their kids vaccinated against seasonal flu.

There were a couple of interesting findings in this study:

• Parents of different races had different likelihoods of being on board with vaccinating their children - 50% of Latinos, 38% of white, and 30% of African American parents said that they were planning to get their kids vaccinated against H1N1.
• People seemed to think that seasonal flu and H1N1 were about the same in terms of seriousness (even though seasonal flu is worse for babies and elderly people and H1N1 seems to be more dangerous for young children and teens).
• About half of the parents that said that they would not get their kids vaccinated said that they were worried about side effects from the vaccine.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Different things can have an impact on uptake of immunizations. For instance, if it looks like the virus is becoming more virulent and more reports of child mortality from the flu surface (especially locally), parents are likely to rethink their opinion. Some states and schools are considering mandating the vaccine, which will clearly sway anyone who is “on the fence” or even against the idea. At the same time, the vaccination rate could be even lower if logistics of getting the H1N1 vaccine are complicated or inconvenient. Let’s face it, people have all kinds of good intentions, but life manages to derail plans, especially around things that we are not overly enthusiastic about in the first place.

So, what is my bottom line? I have been following this epidemic for a while and have learned quite a bit about it. As a result of what I know, I can tell you without a doubt that I intend to get my children vaccinated as soon as it is possible. For those of you thinking along the same lines, here are some ideas for finding H1N1 vaccines for your kids. For those of you who still have questions or worries, check out the following article: Swine Flu Vaccine - Safety, Concerns and Controversy.