My guess is that conservatives are more likely to resist change and avoid new ideas.

I have not been vaccinated for H1N1 because I am not in one of the priority groups. When eligible I will get a shot.

I have not been vaccinated and have no intention of being vaccinated. I believe this is way overblown media hype, just like the other supposed “pandemics” of the past. I think the declaration of a national health emergency is yet another attempt by the liberal statists to persuade the public that we need the government to take care of all our needs, real and imagined. I’m not buying it. For the record, I’m an Independent with strong libertarian leanings.

I have been vaccinated against the seasonal flu, and that is the only shot I will receive that is flu related. I am also thinking this may be overblown media hype. However, I was taken back by the person I saw wearing a surgical mask over their face over the weekend. I could not help but wonder…a precaution against H1N1 or a way to help stop spreading it?

My doctor asked me about getting a flu shot, and when I said I didn’t want H1N1…he responded his office did not have any…surprise, surprise…

I have received the regular flu vaccination, but not H1N1 because I am not in a risk category nor are any people I associate with regularly.
I believe that people who label themselves conservative probably don’t trust anything that they believe might be suggested or supported by the “government.” So, they don’t want to go along with the swine flu vaccine because they think it’s somehow a government plot.

Yes– the professional health care advocates are magna cum laudegraduates of the “sky is falling” school.

But there is no rational reason not to get the H1N1 shot. The risk/reward analysis does not suggest that one should reject the shot because these advocates overstate the risk of a pandemic. The individual risk exists; one should protect against becoming ill.

It is an apolitical reason unless one can postulate that swine and donkeys are more likely to have contact than elephants!!!

John, this is a really dumb hypothesis. How about if you go back and look at the confounding variables, like age. Many of the folks who self report as conservatives are older and are less likely to need the shots anyway. The same young people who went out and voted for Obama are also more prone to get the flu and therefore it is more likely on their RADAR.

OF course, those same oldsters will then claim they were correct in skipping the shots, since it did not effect their demographic group as much.

So was this an online poll or a truly random poll? How about, of respondents between the ages of X and Y, we found these results among liberals and those results among conservatives, where Z number of respondents to our online poll self report as [liberal, conserative, etc]. Oh, and what was the total surveyed?

Thank you, and I am appreciative of the time taken to respond. I am not sure about my confidence levels for a random sample of self selected online poll-takers however, which of course, in not random. What are the opinions of folks who habitually do not participate in online polls?? Maybe like Taleb’s books not yet read. But we are off topic.

What were the numbers for the 18 to 25 yrs crowd?? Did you see a similar skew in the college age sub-group?

Is there a correlation between “no-shots” and those who watch talk media and are sure it is an Obama plot or worse, the vaccine is somehow tainted?

Haven’t had the flu in 15 or 20 years and I’ll take my chances.

No, I don’t trust the government. There is a reasonable chance that this new flu is a lab experiment that got loose or was turned loose.

I DID read the methodology-related link. THAT is why I wrote again.

@billwald

Bill you are my “posterchild” for where I thought Zog’s results were going to go.

Liberals tend to be more frightened of the world around them than conservatives and libertarians, and more willing to embrace the “Deus ex machina.”

@INTJ
I can’t believe I am defending them, but liberals seem to be more “global”. The risk takers I know sure aren’t the conservatives, who want things like they used to be. Maybe liberals travel more, or participate in more far reaching activities than conservatives, and think about those contacts wrt keeping healthy. Who knows? As for being frightened, you have only to watch Fox to see the foil hat brigade tremble at every little thing.

It is very odd to frame opting for flu vaccination as motivated by “fear.” This is especially the case when one of the dominant memes for avoiding the vaccine is, actually, fear that vaccines have pernicious side-effects. It seems possible that people who are ideologically liberal are more likely to opt for vaccination, but that decision could be related to attitudes toward science and medicine, differing levels of access, education, wealth, or a number of other confounding factors.

@Blythe
What you said.

That is to say, I agree with you. I realized after I submitted that, that is an affirmation we use locally. The most conservative person I know, a lawyer, recently admitted that he does not trust science because it changes.

I am an Independent, mostly Libertarian former Republican. I am also a Medical Doctor, and have researched whether people should or should not get the H1N1 vaccine? I believe that any invasive procedure or in this case a vaccination have risks. I have read many of the comments preceeding mine, and I agree, you must assess your own personal risk of coming into contact with the H1N1 virus first and foremost. If you fall into one of the risk categories for this specific virus, then I would highly recommend that you get it. If your chance is a moderate risk, then you can look at your potential encounters to be exposed, and if deemed low, then you could forego the vaccination. If you are of a low risk group and low exposure, then I would recommend that you do not get the vaccine. I have received the seasonal flu vaccine myself as I usually do. But, since my exposure in my current job is very low for encountering the virus, I will not receive the vaccine.

@Rod
Rod, that must be an interesting branch of medicine you are in that you are fairly confident the your chances are low for exposure. You have no family, I take it, nor grandchildren….

My friend the germ-phobe called me to tell me he probably has the flu. He was feeling so bad he stopped at a clinic today, and the doctor told him, in our area at least, there are few to no cases of seasonal flu, so if he goes on to develop a full blown case, it most likely is H1N1.

I will be vaccinated for both as soon as my doctor has them available for me.

The first reason is to help control the spread of the flu within my household; the second is the same, but from a public health perspective. The downside risk of not being vaccinated, while possibly slight percentage-wise (it’s too soon to tell at this moment), is potentially very severe.

Having once experienced a very bad flu that I’ll never forget, my fourth reason is totally self-centered: I don’t want to go through that ever again. (Also, I fall into a higher risk category.)

As to why liberals are more likely to get vaccinated than are conservatives, I think it’s likely related to the types of personalities clustered in these groups. Also, I suspect that liberals (as a group) tend to be more scientifically literate and respectful, while conservatives (again, as a group) are not, and therefore are less able or inclined to weigh the many pros against the few (and sometimes imagined) cons.

Anti-vaccine-ers tend to over-simplify and tend to overlook or ignore many relevant factors that ought to be weighed, in my opinion.

I tend to be politically liberal, and I think there is way too little scientific literacy among our population. Therefore, I applaud the new White House initiative to push science education.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-education-innovate-campaign

I’m an “older American” & very liberal, but I won’t be vaccinated, not even if the vaccine were to become available for my age group, simply because I don’t think the risk is that great. On the other hand, given children’s exposure at school/daycare, and the propensity they have to carry nearly every passing virus home to the rest of the family, vaccinating children seems to be a pretty good idea. So, are libs more afraid of this virus than cons? I doubt the question can be answered based on political ideology alone.