Hey Panic Mongers - We Just Don't Care

The Canadian Press reports Canadians Don't see H1N1 as a Personal Threat.

In the story Dr. Michael Gardam observes, "It would be far easier to go down this road [encouraging vaccinations] if it was a more virulent virus."

No kidding this whole story has been overkill since day 1 and thankfully Canadians aren't buying it. Maybe now the media will move on and find another reason to try to create a global panic.

Here are some neat details from the poll:

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll suggests interest in the swine flu vaccine has declined in Canada, with only a third of people now saying they will get the shot, compared to 45 per cent in late August . . .

The poll, conducted from Oct. 1 to 5, suggests at this point people don't believe this virus will have much impact on their lives. Only 11 per cent of people described themselves as very concerned about H1N1, and 25 per cent said they were somewhat concerned. Nearly two-thirds of people said they either were not very concerned or weren't concerned at all about H1N1.

Three-quarters of Canadians surveyed felt they would be exposed to seasonal flu this winter, but only 45 per cent felt they would be exposed to the pandemic virus.

Only five per cent of respondents felt they were very likely to contract swine flu, and 72 per cent felt they were not that likely or not likely at all to get infected with the new virus. In contrast, 18 per cent felt they were very likely to get sick with seasonal flu. . .

The poll suggests half of people don't plan to get any flu shot at all this year. Of the 50 per cent who do, 27 per cent said they would get both seasonal and pandemic flu shots. In total, 33 per cent indicated they would get an H1N1 shot and 36 per cent said they'd get a seasonal flu shot.

Those numbers actually align pretty closely with the percentage of the population that rolls up its sleeve for flu shots in regular years - further proof, Gardam said, that suggests people don't see the pandemic virus as a greater-than-normal threat at this point.