Most younger adults in BC avoid flu shot
Posted January 22, 2014 11:04 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It seems we’d rather be sick than get the flu shot. A new poll suggests most younger adults in BC are worried about side effects.
Younger adults in this province are the most vulnerable to the flu this year, yet new research shows that age group is the least likely to do something about it.
Only three out of 10 British Columbians under the age of 35 have been immunized.
Kyle Braid with Ipsos-Reid says the number one reason younger adults are avoiding the flu shot is because they’re worried about side effects.
“When you look at those who haven’t got the shot, a majority of them, almost six in 10, say they think that the side effects are going to be worse than actually getting the flu.”
“It’s clearly misinformation that the health officials are going to continue to need to work on with British Columbians because there is clearly a perception that those who get the shot are going to suffer side effects and those may in fact be worse than getting the flu itself,” adds Braid.
The poll does find six out of 10 people 55 and older have received the shot, compared to just four in 10 between the ages of 35 and 54.
