Concern over contracting H1N1 increases in the province

Concern over contracting H1N1 increases in the province; a majority believe that provincial authorities have done a fair or poor job in managing the distribution of the vaccine.

November 24th, 2009 (Saskatoon, SK). A new independent online poll conducted by Insightrix Research shows that 66.4% of the public are either very concerned (19.7%) or somewhat
concerned (46.7%) about their or someone else in their household contracting the H1N1 virus. This is up from 55.9% who were very or somewhat concerned about contracting the virus just
one month ago. The poll was conducted between November 6th and 10th, in the midst of initial public vaccinations throughout the province.

Concern has risen among both men and women, although women continue to have greater concern than men over their or someone else in their household contracting the virus.
Specifically, 72.6% of women are currently concerned, up from 64.8% in early October, while 59.6% of men are concerned, up from 46.3% in early October.

Among adults, those aged 18-34 years continue to be the least concerned about catching the illness, despite initial statistics suggesting younger people are more susceptible to
contracting the virus. In particular, 54.3% of those within this age range are currently concerned about contracting the virus (up modestly from 47.2% in early October), while
concern is currently at 71.0% among those aged 35 years or more.

In early October, only 36.0% of Saskatchewan residents indicated that they planned on getting the H1N1 vaccine. However, by early November, this increased to 53.5% (46.4% plan
on getting the shot and 7.1% report they already received it, as of November 10th). Consistent with lower concern levels among those between the ages of 18 and 34 years,
people within this age range are also less likely to have gotten or plan to get the vaccine (44.8%), when compared to those aged 35 years or more (56.6%).

Overall, 54.8% of Saskatchewan residents believe that the provincial authorities have done a fair (37.2%) or poor (17.6%) job in managing the distribution of the H1N1 vaccine. Another
three in ten (29.6%) believe that they have done a good job, while only 9.4% indicate provincial authorities have done an excellent job. A total of 6.2% are unsure. Those living in
Regina (9.3%) are least likely to believe the provincial authorities have done a poor job when compared to those living in other regions of the province (ranging from 19% to 24%).
In a preventative mindset, several Saskatchewan residents report that they have recently changed their behaviours to reduce their chances of catching either the flu or the H1N1 virus.

The most common behaviours include:
- Washing hands more frequently (85.2%);
- Refraining from touching their eyes, nose and mouth, or washing their hands
immediately after doing so (48.8%); and,
- Limiting person physical contact with others (43.9%).

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