Flu Vaccination Awareness Campaign Addresses Knowledge Gap, Educates Americans that Electing a President is Not the Only Important Choice to Make this Fall
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey of parents of
eight-to-17-year olds shows that vaccination ranks next to last among things
they believe they can do to help protect against the influenza virus.
Although public health guidelines state that getting an annual flu vaccination
is the single best way to prevent the flu, the survey showed that parents
ranked it nearly equally (56 percent) with practices such as taking vitamins
(58 percent) and dressing appropriately for the weather (55 percent).(1,2)
Despite 82 percent of the parents being aware they can vaccinate their child
against the flu, less than half of parents (44 percent) say their child has
ever received an influenza vaccine.(1) Furthermore, only about half (48
percent) say they were extremely or very likely to have their child vaccinated
next flu season even after learning about expanded public health guidelines
recommending that all children six months to 18 years of age receive an annual
flu vaccine.(1,2)
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080821/NETH031 )
In the survey of 952 parents, for those with children not previously
vaccinated against the flu, about three in 10 (32 percent) believe that their
child does not need to be vaccinated against the flu.(1) Additionally, in a
parallel survey of 875 school-age children (eight-to-17 years of age), only 40
percent of children say that it is either extremely or very important for them
to receive an annual flu vaccine.(1) Around half (47 percent) of children
also say that it is extremely or very important that their parents receive an
annual flu vaccine.(1)
"Along with all the things that parents know are important for helping
keep their kids healthy -- like washing hands and getting enough sleep -- flu
vaccination should be right up there, but this survey shows us that we still
have a lot of educating to do," said Anne Moscona, M.D., professor of
pediatrics and of microbiology and immunology, and vice chair of pediatrics
for research at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. "As a community,
we need to do a better job spreading the word about how important a yearly flu
vaccine can be in helping protect kids -- and ourselves -- from influenza."
Federal Flu Vaccine Guidelines Expanded to Reach More Children
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that
getting an annual flu vaccine is the single best way to prevent the flu.(3)
In February, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
expanded their annual influenza vaccination recommendations to include all
children six months to 18 years of age.(2)
According to the CDC, each year, up to 60 million Americans get the flu.
Resulting complications cause more than 200,000 hospitalizations and about
36,000 deaths in the United States each year.(3)
New Campaign Launches to Educate Americans about Flu Vaccine Options
"Flu Vaccination: Choose Your Administration" is an election-themed
campaign that aims to empower and encourage Americans to make informed
decisions about flu vaccination. As part of the campaign, sponsored by
MedImmune, visitors to www.FluVote.com can learn more about two of the most
important health choices they can make this election/flu season: electing to
get a flu vaccination and learning more about flu vaccine options.
Overall, about two out of three parents (67 percent) surveyed say they
wish their child could get a flu vaccine without having to get a shot, and
about three out of four school-age children (77 percent) say the same for
themselves.(1) Of those parents who have previously had their child
vaccinated against the flu, nearly 4 out of 5 (78 percent) say they would be
extremely or very willing to try a needle-free flu vaccine for their child if
their doctor said it was okay.(1)
A large majority of parents of eight-to-17-year-olds (80 percent) are
reliant on doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals for information
about flu vaccines, according to the survey.(1) In fact, two-thirds (66
percent) indicate that a healthcare provider's recommendation impacts their
decision a great deal or quite a bit when determining whether or not to have
their child vaccinated against the flu.(1) Among parents who have ever had
their child vaccinated, half (53 percent) say that their child received the
flu vaccine because their child's healthcare provider recommended it.(1)
About Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as "the flu," is a contagious disease
caused by the influenza virus.(3) The flu, much like the common cold, is
airborne and can be easily transmitted from person to person.(3) Cold and flu
are often confused for one another because both are respiratory illnesses.(4)
Flu symptoms are often much worse and can include fever, chills, headache,
extreme fatigue, and body aches.(4) The most notable difference is that the
flu can result in serious complications such as pneumonia and bacterial
infections.(4) Also, unlike symptoms of the common cold, the fatigue and
weakness caused by the flu can last more than two weeks-lingering long after
other symptoms subside.(4)
About the Parent and Child Flu Surveys
These surveys were conducted online within the United States by Harris
Interactive on behalf of MedImmune between June 4 and June 19, 2008 among 952
U.S. residents ages 24 and older with an 8-17 year old in the household for
whom they are the parent or guardian and among 875 U.S. children and
adolescents 8-17 years old. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be
calculated; a full methodology is available.
Harris Interactive conducts a full range of custom research projects for
clients in both commercial and public policy arenas and among children and
teens. Harris Interactive's policies on interviewing children and teens
comply with the legal codes of conduct in each country in which research is
conducted. With regard to online research in the U.S., Harris Interactive
complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
About MedImmune
MedImmune is wholly owned by AstraZeneca plc (LSE: AZN.L, NYSE: AZN) and
is the worldwide biologics business for the AstraZeneca Group. The company
has approximately 3,000 employees worldwide and is headquartered in
Gaithersburg, Maryland. MedImmune strives to provide better medicines to
patients, new medical options for physicians and rewarding careers to
employees. Dedicated to advancing science and medicine to help people live
better lives, the company is focused on infection, oncology, respiratory
disease and inflammation, cardiovascular/ gastrointestinal disease and
neuroscience. For more information, visit MedImmune's website at
www.medimmune.com.
About Harris Interactive(R)
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a
long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science
and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris
Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and
Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more
information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
(1) MedImmune. Parent-Child Influenza Survey. Harris Interactive Inc.
June 2008.
(2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). MMWR. 2008;57(Early
Release):1-60. Available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr57e717a1.htm. Accessed August 11,
2008.
(3) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Key Facts about
Influenza and the Influenza Vaccine. Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm. Accessed August 11, 2008.
(4) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Questions & Answers:
Cold Versus Flu. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/coldflu.htm.
Accessed August 11, 2008.
SOURCE MedImmune
CONTACT: Karen Lancaster of MedImmune, +1-301-398-5864