Consumers are surprisingly not as worried about the H1N1 virus, or Swine Flu, becoming a major threat as the headlines may suggest. They are not sensing the urgency of the pandemic and while more than half (53 percent) are planning to get vaccinated, 41 percent are not. This raises the question of if people are taking the threat of the pandemic seriously, and what can be done to raise further awareness of how to get vaccinated. Additionally, certain groups, such as the uninsured are even less prepared to deal with the threat, further illustrating the disparity in our current health care system, echoing the need for health care reform.

Perceptions of Swine Flu

• More than half of Americans surveyed (52 percent) do not believe the H1N1 virus, or Swine Flu, will have a major impact in the U.S., compared to 44 percent who believe it will.
• Men (58 percent) are more likely than women (46 percent) to believe the virus will not have a major impact.
• Nearly half (48 percent) of women believe that the virus will have a major impact in the U.S.
• The uninsured (60 percent) and African American respondents (71 percent) are more likely to believe the Swine Flu will have a major impact in the U.S.
• Respondents in the Northeast (58 percent) and West (56 percent) are more likely to believe the Swine Flu will not have a major impact in the U.S. compared to 49 percent of respondents in the South and 45 percent of respondents in the North Central region who say it will have a major impact.

Plans for Vaccination

• More than half of respondents (53 percent) say they plan to get vaccinated, compared with 41 percent who say they will not be vaccinated.
• 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) of Swine Flu or where to get vaccinated (57 percent), and less plan to get vaccinated (49 percent).
• 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).
• Respondents age 55 years old 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 (73 percent); 35 to 44 (79 percent); and 45 to 54 (72 percent).
• Respondents age 55 to 64 years old and respondents 65 and older, are also more likely to plan to get vaccinated (61 percent and 61 percent, respectively) compared to respondents 18 to 34 (52 percent); 35 to 44 (42 percent); and 45 to 54 (51 percent).
• Seventy percent of respondents from age 18 years old to 34 years old say they are aware of the symptoms, significantly lower than respondents 35 to 44 (80 percent); 45 to 54 (86 percent); 55 to 64 (84 percent); and 65 and older (79 percent), who say they know the symptoms.
• Eighty-two percent of Caucasian respondents say they are aware of the symptoms of the virus compared to only 63 percent of African American or 69 percent of Hispanic respondents who say they know the symptoms.
• 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.
• Respondents in the South and Northeast region are slightly more likely to get vaccinated (56 percent and 54 percent, respectively) compared to those in the North Central or West (49 percent and 50 percent, respectively) who plan to do so.

Swine Flu Contingency Plans at Work or School

• Approximately half (49 percent) of the respondents surveyed say they have a plan where they work or go to school to handle the H1N1 virus.
• Only 34 percent of the uninsured have such a plan.
• Respondents in the South (50 percent) and West (54 percent) are more likely to say they have a plan to handle the virus at work or school compared to respondents in the Northeast (46 percent) and North Central (46 percent) regions who say they have such a plan.
• Respondents in the Northeast (46 percent) and the North Central (49 percent) regions are also more likely to say they do not have a plan compared to those in the South (42 percent) or West (35 percent) who say they do not have such a plan.

Survey 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, or Swine Flu. 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.

For more information and additional reports, please visit Deloitte’s Center for Health Solutions: www.deloitte.com/CenterforHealthSolutions/subscribe