Influenza: Moms' Reasons for Not Vaccinating

Pediatricians may not be sufficiently proactive in urging vaccination against seasonal influenza or the 2009 H1N1 virus. The conclusion is implied by results of a recent survey of US mothers, one third of whom indicated that they would not get their children vaccinated against the seasonal or 2009 H1N1 flu, despite the fact that an overwhelming majority (91%) view influenza as a family-health threat.* The survey was sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

Among the reasons for not vaccinating their children against the seasonal or 2009 H1N1 flu, 52% of moms indicated that their pediatrician "left it up to them." Other reasons for not vaccinating included the misperception that 1) healthy children do not need to be vaccinated (63%) and 2) there are other similarly effective ways to avoid influenza (57%).

Carol Baker, MD, chair of NFID's Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition and professor of pediatrics at Baylor, called this kind of thinking among parents "magical" or "wishful" and concluded, "[T]he survey reveals the need for more disease education and for health care providers to emphasize to parents that immunization is the best way to prevent flu."

Notably a minority of respondents expressed reservations about the effectiveness (11%) or safety (7%) of influenza vaccinations and their capacity to cause disease (5%).

The survey of 500 US mothers was conducted by telephone during August 19-25 of this year. Respondents were required to have children from 6 months to 18 years of age living with them. The reported margin of error for the survey is 4.4%.

A nonprofit organization, the NFID established the Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition in 2007 to increase awareness of pediatric influenza and the benefits of immunization. The Coalition is funded by an unrestricted, educational grant from sanofi pasteur, one manufacturer of both seasonal and 2009 H1N1 vaccinations.

* 91% of mothers were concerned that their whole family would become ill if a child contracted seasonal flu.