Research reveals that 52% Americans are not worried about H1N1 virus and its impact

DeloitteOct 6 2009

The Uninsured Are the Least Prepared to Address Flu Threat

As the first recipients of the H1N1 vaccine are vaccinated, more than half of Americans surveyed (52 percent) do not believe the H1N1 virus, or Swine Flu, will have a major impact in the United States compared to 44 percent who believe it will, according to the results of a new Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey.

"Most people know that H1N1 is a potentially serious pandemic; however, our survey findings suggest they do not associate the virus as something that could pose a major threat to the U.S., nor do they appear to sense the need for immediate vaccination," said Paul Keckley, Ph.D. and executive director, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. "The data also suggests that certain parts of the population, particularly the uninsured, are potentially more vulnerable to Swine Flu than others."

While more than half of respondents (53 percent) say they plan to get vaccinated and the majority of respondents (79 percent) say they know the symptoms of the virus and where to get vaccinated

(78 percent), significantly less of the uninsured population surveyed are aware of the symptoms (68 percent) or where to get vaccinated (57 percent), and less plan to get vaccinated (49 percent).

Additionally, about half (49 percent) of the respondents surveyed say they have a plan where they work or go to school to handle the H1N1 virus, compared with only 34 percent of the uninsured who say they have such a plan.

"According to our research, 54 percent of Americans are doubtful that health care reform will pass this year," added Keckley. "The disparity between the uninsured, underinsured and insured varies widely within the current health care system. It will be interesting to see if a major pandemic, such as Swine Flu, may factor into influencing the health care reform debate as the system is further challenged."

Additional findings from the survey include:

• Respondents who are underinsured, or have inadequate insurance, are even less likely to plan to get vaccinated than the uninsured (46 percent compared with 49 percent).

• Forty-one percent of respondents surveyed do not plan to get vaccinated.

• Men (58 percent) are more likely than women (46 percent) to believe the virus will not have a major impact.

• The uninsured (60 percent) and African American respondents (71 percent) are more likely to believe the virus will have a major impact.

• Respondents 55 to 64 years old and respondents age 65 and older are more likely to know where to get vaccinated (86 percent and 83 percent, respectively) compared to respondents 18 to 34 years old (73 percent); 35 to 44 years old (79 percent); and 45 to 54 years old (72 percent).

• Respondents 55 to 64 years old and respondents age 65 and older, are also more likely to plan to get vaccinated (61 percent and 61 percent, respectively) compared to respondents 18 to 34 years old (52 percent); 35 to 44 years old (42 percent); and 45 to 54 years old (51 percent).

• Respondents in the Northeast (58 percent) and West (56 percent) are more likely to believe Swine Flu will not have a major impact on the U.S. compared to 49 percent of respondents in the South who say it will have a major impact.

• African Americans are more likely to plan to get vaccinated (62 percent) compared to Caucasians (51 percent) and Hispanics (55 percent).

• Hispanic respondents surveyed are less likely to know where to get vaccinated (67 percent) compared with Caucasians (80 percent) and African Americans (77 percent) surveyed.

Methodology:

The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,010 U.S. adults 18 years old and older from Sept. 10 -13 to gauge public opinion about the H1N1 virus. Data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of age, sex, geographic region and race. The survey has a sampling error of + or - 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.