More Americans planning for flu shot this year, survey finds

ANN ARBOR, — More Americans have either already received a flu shot or plan to get one this year than those who received the vaccination a year ago, according to the Truven Health Analytics-NPR Health Poll released Friday.

 

The latest survey asked respondents for their opinions regarding flu shots. As many as 62% of respondents had either already received a flu shot or planned to get one this year. This reflects a 6 percentage point jump from the number of respondents who said they had received the shot last year. 

 

And 78% of respondents said their latest flu vaccine cost them nothing out of pocket. Approximately 35% received the shot at a doctor’s office, followed by 27% who received it at a pharmacy and 16% nwho received it at their place of employment. 

 

When those who said they would not receive a flu shot were asked why they will abstain, the most common response was that it was not needed (48%), followed by a concern about side effects (16%), fear of getting the flu because of the vaccination (14%) and belief that the shot is ineffective (8%). 

 

“Unfortunately, the erroneous belief that receiving the vaccine will cause influenza is still fairly common, as this survey shows. The vaccine contains ‘killed virus,’ so there is no risk of contracting influenza from the vaccine," stated Michael Taylor, chief medical officer for Truven Health Analytics. "However, the inhaled version does have live virus particles, so this form of vaccine does carry a slight risk," he said. “The other issue noted from the survey is the idea that people ‘don’t need it.’ If more people receive the vaccine, it is harder for the virus to spread. From a public health perspective, if more Americans receive the vaccine, it would be more difficult for an epidemic to develop.”