C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health
finds nearly 90% of public supports required H1N1 vaccination for health care workers in case of outbreak
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – ANN ARBOR, Mich.—As H1N1 influenza vaccine begins to be shipped across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasize getting the first doses to high-priority groups. One such group is health care workers. A report released today by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health shows 87 percent of the public believes health care workers should be required to
be vaccinated against H1N1 flu in case of an outbreak, while only 38 percent of health care workers intend to get the H1N1 flu vaccine.
“We have heard from public health experts and health care
workers—and now we see how strongly the public feels about their
health care workers getting vaccinated against H1N1 flu,” says Matthew
Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the poll and associate professor of
pediatrics and internal medicine in the Child Health Evaluation and
Research Unit at the U-M Medical School (
http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool ). “The public clearly expects
health care workers to lead by example.”
The poll also finds that, even among health care workers, there are
misconceptions about vaccination and treatment for both seasonal and
H1N1 flu.
Results show health care workers were more likely than other adults
polled to say they would not get vaccinated against H1N1 flu because
there are medications to treat H1N1 illness, and because they plan to
get the seasonal flu vaccine and therefore believe they would not need
the H1N1 flu vaccine.
“The belief that seasonal flu vaccine will protect against H1N1 is a
misconception. The seasonal flu vaccine and H1N1 flu vaccine protect
against different viruses. You need to get vaccinated against both to be
protected against both,” says Davis. “In addition, relying on
medications to treat H1N1 flu is a gamble, especially since there have
been isolated cases of resistance to the most commonly used drug, and
there may not be adequate supplies of medication to treat all who get
sick. That means vaccination is likely our best choice for controlling
H1N1 flu.”
Because health care workers do not have a strong track record of
vaccination against seasonal flu, hospital directors and in some cases
public health officials (for example, New York State) have decided to
mandate H1N1 flu vaccination for health care workers. There has been
vocal opposition to this idea from some health care worker groups.
“The public expects health care workers to be vaccinated against H1N1
flu—whether that occurs through voluntary efforts or mandates,” says
Davis, who is also professor of public policy at the U-M Gerald R. Ford
School of Public Policy. “No one can be sure about how severe H1N1 flu
will be and how many lives it will affect. But the public is relying on
health care workers to be prepared—not just with hand-washing and
masks, but with the vaccine that will soon be available.”
The poll surveyed 2,365 adults from Aug. 13 – 31, 2009, across the
United States.
FULL REPORT: www.med.umich.edu/mott/npch/pdf/100109report.pdf
FIGURES: www.med.umich.edu/mott/npch/pdf/100109figures.pdf
POLL QUESTIONS: www.med.umich.edu/mott/npch/pdf/100109questions.pdf
Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – general information
about H1N1 influenza: www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm
C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health:
www.med.umich.edu/mott/npch
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