The new Harvard study, “The Public's Response to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic,” found that, while “early in the pandemic, when no vaccine was available a majority of Americans were quick to adopt two central public health recommendations.” In the event of another influenza pandemic,  a “substantial portion of the public” may not be so willing to get immunized with another new flu vaccine.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study found that "in the pandemic's first weeks, almost two thirds of Americans (59 percent to 67 percent) said that they or someone in their family had begun to wash their hands or clean them with sanitizer more frequently, and a majority (55 percent) had made preparations to stay at home if they or a family member got sick,” the study found. “It was also recommended that people avoid exposure to others with influenza-like symptoms, and 35 percent to 38 percent said they had done that.”

The report warned that even though “the rate of death was lower than was initially predicted … the numbers of H1N1 cases, hospitalizations  and deaths were nonetheless substantial, and the experience offers some lessons that may help us to prepare for future influenza outbreaks.”

Additionally, while “measures for reducing interactions with other people were not recommended as routine practice,” the study stated, polls nevertheless suggestd that 16 percent to 25 percent of Americans had avoided “places where many people are gathered, like sporting events, malls, or public transportation,” and 20 percent had “reduced contact with people outside [their] household as much as possible.”

Fewer still had adopted related measures. Only four percent to eight percent said they or family members had worn a face mask, and only one percent to three percent got a prescription for or purchased antiviral drugs.

“Between July, when discussions about vaccine availability increased, and October when a limited amount of vaccine became available, the public was divided over whether they would get vaccinated,” the new study found, noting that “roughly half (46 percent to 57 percent) of the public said they expected to receive the vaccine.”

A higher percentage of parents — 59 percent to 70 percent — said they expected to get their children vaccinated.

“In making their decision,” the Harvard study stated, “some people appeared to think there was a trade-off between accepting the perceived risk associated with the illness and accepting any perceived risk associated with the vaccine. Sixty percent of adults who initially said they did not intend to get the vaccine for themselves and parents who initially said they did not intend to get the vaccine for their children also said that they would change their mind if ‘there were people in [their] community who were sick or dying from influenza A (H1N1).’”

The study said “there were two major reasons why people said they would not or might not get the H1N1 vaccine, one of which was concern about its safety,” which is a position public health preparedness officials and planners have HSToday.us doesn’t necessarily surprise them.

Indeed. The Harvard researchers determined that “parents who said they would not or might not have their children vaccinated were even more concerned about safety: 33 percent cited concern about exposure to another serious illness from the vaccine.”
And an even “higher percentage of these parents than of adults overall indicated that they did not trust public health officials to provide correct information about the vaccine's safety (31 percent vs. 19 percent.”