Trends in Risk Perceptions and Vaccination Intentions: A Longitudinal Study of the First Year of the H1N1 Pandemic

Abstract

Objectives Vaccination is critical to controlling disease transmission during a pandemic, yet little is known about how the public’s risk perception and willingness to be immunized evolve as pandemics progress. We sought to evaluate longitudinal trends in risk perceptions and vaccination intentions during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Methods We performed a longitudinal analysis of risk perception and vaccination intention from 10 waves of a survey (May 2009 to January 2010) from a national sample of U.S. adults. Results Self-reported perceived risk of becoming infected with H1N1 paralleled H1N1 activity throughout the pandemic’s first year. However, intention to be vaccinated declined from 50% (May 2009) to 16% (January 2010) among those still unvaccinated (27% were vaccinated by January). Respondents that reported previous vaccination against seasonal influenza reported significantly higher H1N1 vaccination intentions (67% versus 26%, p<0.001). Conclusions Reported intention to be vaccinated declined well before vaccine became available and decreased throughout the pandemic year. To the extent that prior vaccination for seasonal influenza vaccination is a strong correlate of H1N1 risk perceptions, encouraging seasonal influenza vaccination may benefit pandemic preparedness efforts.

Conscious Consideration of Herd Immunity in Influenza Vaccination Decisions

“…1 The decision to be vaccinated depends largely upon the perceived risks and benefits, 2 potentially including the perceived risk or protection provided by an individuals’ social networks. If people associate transmission risk with the infectiousness of their social networks, increasing vaccination, resulting in “herd immunity,” should reduce the expected benefits of personal vaccination because individuals perceive lower likelihood of contact with infection.…”

Influenza vaccination rates for hospitalised patients: a multiyear quality improvement effort

“…The H1N1 pandemic raised national awareness of the importance of influenza vaccination 8. The estimated seasonal influenza vaccination rates for this season were higher overall 9.…”

Inspecting the Mechanism

“…55,56 The survey also collected information on health-risk factors for H1N1-related complications as summarized in the government's H1N1 vaccination recommendations. 51 I used data from three of the 12 ALP influenza surveys, which were conducted between 17 and 31 August 2009 (“wave 7”), 19 November and 10 December 2009 (“wave 9”) and 17 May and 25 June 2010 (“wave 11”), respectively.…”

“…Previous research based on multiple ALP waves showed that mean perceived infection risks over time closely tracked the temporal pattern of H1N1 virus activity as measured by weekly CDC data on outpatient visits for influenza-like illnesses and hospitalizations. 56 …”