One quarter have had flu shot, one third to get it
Significant minority think vaccines
cause illness
TORONTO
November 8th, 2015 - In a random sampling of public opinion taken by
the Forum Poll™ among 1256 Canadian adults, one quarter had already received a
flu shot (25%) and one third were planning to get one (33%) for a total of more
than half who will be inoculated this flu season (57%). Four-in-ten will not
get a vaccine (40%) and very few are unsure whether they will or not (3%).
Having already been vaccinated is characteristic of the oldest (38%), prairie
dwellers (42%) and among Anglophones (27%) more than Francophones (13%).
Most who will not get shot say they
don’t get ill
The
largest group of those who don’t plan to be vaccinated against the flu say it
is because they rarely get the flu (39%), while about half this proportion say
either that the vaccine is ineffective (17%) or that it causes disease (15%).
Small groups are too busy (5%) or have a fear of needles (4%). As many as one
fifth have some other reason (19%). Belief that vaccines cause disease is
common to the oldest (24%), lower ($20K to $40K - 20%) and higher income groups
($80K to $100K - 20%), Conservatives (20%) and the least educated (21%).
“A claimed vaccination penetration rate of
more than 50% has to be quite a positive indicator, in
that rarely do more than about a third of Canadian adults get inoculated
against the flu. In our results, we see three quarters of seniors either
inoculated or intending to be, and this matches the clinical data well.
Unfortunately, it is the oldest who are also most likely to believe vaccines
cause rather than prevent disease,” said Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne
Bozinoff.
Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and
founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com
or at (416) 960-9603.
