The poll also found that public health efforts to expand the availability of H1N1 vaccine in different community settings have been successful. While a doctor's office was still the most common vaccine site for both children (53 percent) and adults (44 percent), about one-quarter of children were vaccinated at school clinics and one-third of adults received the H1N1 vaccine at a city, county or state health department. Pharmacies, grocery stores, retail clinics and workplace clinics accounted for 21 percent of adult H1N1 vaccinations.

"To achieve vaccination of about 30 percent of children and almost 20 percent of adults in just 3 months with a new vaccine is a major accomplishment," says Davis. "With newly approved vaccines for kids and adults, we usually see uptake rates in the first year at around 10 percent. But with H1N1 vaccine the levels are considerably higher. It looks as if the coordinated national, state, and local efforts to protect the population against H1N1 have helped increase public acceptance of the vaccine in this early period. When patients heard those messages in combination with strong recommendations from their health care providers, most decided to get vaccinated or vaccinate their children."

Among those who have not yet received the H1N1 vaccine, 11 percent plan to get vaccinated in the upcoming weeks, while 25 percent plan to get vaccinated if the H1N1 outbreak worsens.

The overall H1N1 vaccination rates in this poll (29 percent among children; 16 percent among adults) are very similar to national statistics reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using a telephone survey (29 percent among children; 17 percent among adults) during the period December 27, 2009-January 2, 2010.

Source: Knowledge Networks, Inc.