What predicted people’s vaccination decisions during the swine flu pandemic? New paper published by IHI resarchers

In the 2009 influenza pandemic, uptake of vaccine among priority groups in the UK was low. Among eligible groups, the overall update was only 35%, and a mere 24% among children. To better understand vaccination behaviours, we used survey data collected from over 500 households during the pandemic on people’s attitudes to flu vaccinations for themselves and their children. We found that those people who perceived the risk from flu to be higher and who had greater confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine were more likely to get the vaccination for themselves and for their children. In addition, vaccination uptake was less likely among people who believed that natural infection provides greater long-term immunity. We recommend that future strategies to increase vaccination uptake during a pandemic should address public concerns about the safety and effectiveness of pandemic vaccines.

The paper is open access and can be found here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X1730720X