As concern spreads about H1N1 flu, a new survey of California voters found that while most consider the vaccine safe, a majority had no plans to get vaccinated. The poll also found that blacks and Latinos are far more likely than other groups to say they believe the vaccine could be unsafe.
Only 5% of those surveyed said they already had been inoculated, a figure that remained consistent across income groups. Of the rest, 52% said they did not plan to get vaccinated. Among the 40% who said they wanted the vaccine, 12% said they already had attempted to find it but failed.
The decision not to get the vaccine, for the most part, did not appear driven by safety concerns. Overall, 70% of those polled said they think the vaccine is safe for most people; 17% said there was a "strong chance" the vaccine is unsafe. But among blacks, the percentage expressing concern about safety was twice as high, and among Latinos, 25% did so.
The findings come from a new Los Angeles Times/USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences poll. The survey, based on interviews of 1,500 registered voters from Oct. 27 through Nov. 3, was conducted for The Times and USC by two nationally prominent polling firms, the Democratic firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, and the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
Some responses -- particularly those of minority groups and young adults -- may be of concern to health officials.
Blacks and Latinos are among those most at risk from H1N1 flu, primarily because they suffer disproportionately from asthma, diabetes and other health problems. They are also four times more likely than whites to be hospitalized with H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released in August.
Yet blacks and Latinos in California were far more likely to doubt the safety of the vaccine. Blacks also were the least likely to have plans to get the vaccine.
"People are very skeptical," said Desiree Harris, 45, of Pasadena, an African American polled by The Times.
Harris, a Pentecostal minister who said she considers the vaccine safe, has not been vaccinated. But she has encouraged others at her church to get inoculated. She said federal officials have work to do to rebuild people's faith in their recommendations.
