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LIFESTYLE

46% Plan To Get Flu Shot This Year, 48% Don't

Flu season is upon us again, but less than half of Americans nationwide plan to get a flu shot this year. Over a quarter of adults say they are less likely to get one because of the mildness of last year’s season.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 46% intend to get a flu shot this year, while 48% do not. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The number of adults who plan to get the vaccine this year is down slightly from 51% last year and 53% in October 2009. The latest results are more similar to those found in 2006 and 2007.

Twenty-seven percent (27%) of adults say they are less likely to get a flu shot this year because of the mildness of the flu season last year. Most (63%), however, say last year’s flu season has no impact on their decision this year. Only eight percent (8%) say they are more likely to get vaccinated for this reason.

Overall, 20% of adults believe this year’s flu season will be better than last year’s, while roughly the same number (18%) think it will be worse. Twenty-nine percent (29%) don’t expect much of a difference this year, while 33% more are not sure.

Just after the swine flu epidemic made headlines, 56% expected the 2009 flu season to be worse than the year before.

One in four adults (25%) says he or she would be more likely to get a flu shot if it was needle-free. Most (57%) say a needle-free vaccination would not change their mind about getting a flu shot, while 18% are undecided.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).  Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on September 23-24, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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