Poll: Americans More Concerned About H1N1

(CBS)  Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about the H1N1 virus, a new CBS News poll finds, with 72 percent now describing H1N1 as a "very" or "somewhat" serious problem.

In May, just 49 percent described H1N1 as "very" or "somewhat" serious.

The percentage of Americans who say H1N1, also known as swine flu, is a "very serious" problem has more than doubled since May, rising from 12 percent to 28 percent.

Twenty-one percent of Americans say H1N1 is "not too serious," down from 35 percent in May. Only six percent say it is "not at all serious," down from 14 percent.

With the school year now starting up in most areas of the country, most parents say they plan to have their children vaccinated against the virus. Forty-five percent of parents with kids under 18 say they are "very likely" to have their kids vaccinated, and another 22 percent are "somewhat likely" to do so.

Another 31 percent say they are "not very" or "not at all" likely to have their children vaccinated.

Older Americans are particularly concerned about H1N1, despite some evidence that younger people may be more susceptible to the virus. Eighty-two percent of those 65 or older describe the outbreak as serious. Women are slightly more likely than men to view it as serious.

To view or download the complete CBS News poll click here.

CBSNews.com Special Report: H1N1

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This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1097 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone August 27-31, 2009. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[fabrat1]

3 out of 5 members of my family have swine flu right now. I can tell you right now this flu is nothing to play with. It's worse than the regular flu. My Daughter has been sick with it for 6 days and she doesn't seem to be any better. We tried the washing hands all the time etc but with the kids back in school it's hard to avoid it. I have learned that some parents, and you know who you are, don't care a thing about others. They send their kids to school sick no matter how many others they are making sick. How hard is it to keep your kid home if they're sick??? This flu wouldn't be so wide spread if patents would just keep their sick kids OUT of school!!!

[didserve]

This is hype!

Another shining thing to distract from the ineptitude of our elected officials!''


MOre people get sick from spoiled milk than this jacked up flu!

[reveal5]

Good luck to all you folks who will refuse the vaccination because of right wing talking heads. Hope you folks don't end up as statistics. 'Course the truth is that many will.

[Lawyers-Guns-n-Money]

This is just a ploy by the Socialist-in-Chief to brainwash people via a 'vaccination.' If you're a concerned anti-socialist, please join me in NOT receiving the vaccine. If we get sick, we'll do so together in the privacy and safety of our own soon to be established compound and eat chicken soup as our remedy. Hospitals will no longer be safe as they will only be havens for socialists and I predict if you should go to one for treatment, they will attempt to euthanize you if you give any indication you don't drink the socialist Kool-Aid. P.S. Don't wait for me if I'm a bit late.

To recap: Don't get the vaccine and don't visit any hospitals. And no longer drink the water as it also is soon going to be used as a vector to deliver the socialist virus. And television, stay away from that too. Obama is going to emit subliminal messages via the new digital broadcast transmission signal (why do you think he postponed the digital signal implementation? He needed to perfect the delivery system.) Oh, and that green energy BS? Fugedaboudit. Those so-called solar panels and windmills are only further socialist idealism aerial dispersion methods. It will soon no longer be safe to even breath.

Time for an armed revolution!

[mav547166]

The regular flu kills 30 to 50k or more a year in the US. When a really bad flu makes the scene (ie Captain Tripps in Steven Kings The Stand) no one will bother taking any precautions because we have blown every illness into a full fledged pandemic. The vaccine may very well kill more than the swine flu itself.

[Lawyers-Guns-n-Money]

I very well may heed your warnings...if you're an esteemed epidemiologist, that is. (snicker)

[reveal5]

Yet again all can see that the fringe is exactly backwords to prevailing thought in America. Just at this time when Americans are overwhelmingly waking up to the H1N1 threat...the fringe is balking. The fringe sees a conspiracy. The fringe sees a profit motive. The fringe is afraid of the vaccine. They are being told not to accept the vaccination by the right wing talking heads. The less of the fringe who receive the vaccine, the more of the fringe will die. Therefore, the right wing talking heads are encouraging the fringe to decline flu vaccination and die. Wow, that sounds kinda' like a conspiracy.

[woeisme1]

Good question. I saw a poll yesterday on Yahoo News that said just the opposite. It related that most Americans are not concerned about H1N1.

[slownewsday_5]

It would be interesting to see these questions in their entirety, as well as the context they are presented in.

Too bad all polls don't have that kind of info prominently displayed alongside the stats.