Common Misconceptions Are the Cause for Almost Half of U.S. Adults Skipping the Flu Shot

Despite repeated warnings about the dangers of not getting an influenza (flu) shot and last year’s record number of flu-related deaths, more than 40 percent of Americans haven’t been vaccinated against the flu and aren’t planning to be due to misconceptions, according to a new survey. The survey of 1,202 adults conducted between Nov. 14 and 19 by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago found 43 percent of adults had received the flu shot and 14 percent were planning to get the flu shot, but 41 percent said they don’t plan to get vaccinated and approximately 2 percent were undecided or did not respond. The highest vaccination rate (62 percent) was for adults older than 60 years, the group at highest risk for flu-related complications, which leaves one in four adults older than 60 years not planning to get vaccinated. Adults younger than 45 years were the least likely to report being vaccinated. And, among adults with children younger than 18 years living at home, 39 percent said they do not vaccinate their children.

The top reasons for not vaccinating against the flu were concern about side effects (36 percent), concern about getting the flu from the vaccine (31 percent) and the belief the flu vaccine doesn’t work (31 percent). “Unfortunately, many people are still not getting flu shots due to broader misconceptions about the value of receiving a flu shot and concerns about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines,” said Caitlin Oppenheimer, MPH, senior vice president of public health research at NORC. In addition to misconceptions, approximately two-thirds of survey respondents were unaware of the high hospitalization and death rates from the flu last year.