Public May Refuse Pandemic Flu Vaccine Over Safety Concerns

Parents and healthcare workers may refuse to get immunized or vaccinate their children against a pandemic virus if they believe the risks of a novel vaccine outweigh the benefits, according to research published in Emerging Health Threats Journal.

As the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic threatens to pick up speed as winter approaches in the northern hemisphere, pharmaceutical companies are racing to produce a vaccine against the novel ‘swine flu’ virus. The first batches of vaccine could be used to protect vulnerable populations, and to ensure the pandemic does not compromise health care availability. But immunization in communities is most effective when enough people are vaccinated to confer ‘herd immunity’ on the rest of the population. Members of the public who refuse the jab for themselves or their children could compromise this wider protective effect, the researchers say.

The researchers, Natalie Henrich of the University of British Columbia and Bev Holmes at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, conducted 11 focus groups in Vancouver before the onset of the current pandemic, and asked participants how willing they would be to accept a new vaccine in the event of a pandemic.

Parents known to favor ‘alternative medicine’ were particularly opposed to vaccination—but even healthcare workers would be reluctant to get vaccinated against an illness perceived as mild. “Participants were very concerned that in a pandemic, a vaccine would be brought to market without sufficient testing for safety,” write the researchers.

Many believed that instead, they could protect themselves against infection through personal control measures such as hand washing, social distancing, or even a good diet. While these measures are important, say Henrich and Holmes, they are not sufficient to prevent illness. This needs to be made clear to the public to ensure the vaccination campaign is successful, they stress.

It is particularly important to communicate with alternative health professionals about the benefits and risks of vaccination. “In the United States, for example, approximately 57 percent of the population use alternative therapies and 10 percent receive services from alternative healthcare providers,” write the authors. “The influence on their patients can mean the difference between whether or not herd immunity is achieved.”