A second survey, conducted by the Pharmacy company, CVS, shows 59% of those asked said they were “likely” to get a flu shot this year. This is despite the fact that two-thirds of those who were asked in that survey knew that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that people get a flu shot for anyone over 6 months old.
Concern over flu shot side effects
The Consumer Reports survey also shows some interesting data among those who say they will not get a shot. 44% said that they were concerned about the possible side effects of getting the shot. Another 41% in the same survey said they were concerned about safety. Another 45% said that they felt the fears over the pandemic of the swine flu was overblown and over-hyped.
Of course, some doctors are now concerned that myths and rumors over the state of vaccines in this country are now scaring away people from getting flu shots. During the past year 270,000 people were hospitalized for flu-like symptoms. There were also 12,470 deaths linked to the disease. Of those who died, 1,280 were children.
These statistics do seem to hit a note with parents. Parents surveyed said that they were likely to get their children shots. The parents with children ages 6 months to 17 years were asked if they were going to get shot for their children and half of them said yes.
Some of those asked said they were concerned about getting the 3-in-1 shots that are supposed to protect the patients from the standard flu as well as the swine flu known as H1N1. However, some doctors are saying that there is no cause for alarm as this vaccine was produced in the same manner as other flu shots of the past.
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