Poll: 59% Likely to give Kids H1N1 Vaccine

As hospitals and clinics in the U.S. distribute the first batches of the new H1N1 vaccination, 59 percent of parents say they are likely to vaccinate their children, a new CBS News poll finds.

However, more than a third of parents say they are not likely to do so. Despite nearly three in four Americans viewing the H1N1 virus as a serious problem, less than half say they will get vaccinated themselves.

Read CBS News' Special Report on H1N1

In terms of getting vaccinated for the H1N1 flu (also known as the swine flu), 46 percent of Americans say they are likely to do so, including just 28 percent who are very likely to do so. Fifty-one percent say they are not very likely to be vaccinated - including a third who says they are not at all likely.

As for how serious Americans deem H1N1, perhaps because of the vaccine's availability the percentage who say the virus is a very serious problem is down slightly, from 28 percent in August to 21 percent today. Still, nearly three in four maintain the flu is at least somewhat serious.

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 829 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone October 5-8, 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. The margin of error for the sample of parents with children under age 18 is six points.

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