Dramatic change in public attitudes towards vaccination during the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic in France

Abstract

We investigated the potential impact of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic on attitudes towards vaccination among people aged 18 to 75 years and living in metropolitan France. We used data from three national telephone surveys conducted on representative samples in 2000, 2005 and 2010 (n=12,256, n=23,931, n=8,573 respectively). In France, unfavourable attitudes towards vaccination in general dramatically increased from 8.5% in 2000 and 9.6% in 2005 to 38.2% in 2010. In 2010, among respondents who held unfavourable attitudes towards vaccination, 50% mentioned specifically their opposition to the influenza A(H1N1) vaccine. The sociodemographic profile associated with these attitudes also changed greatly. In particular, unfavourable attitudes towards vaccination in general became significantly more frequent among less educated people in 2010. These attitudes were also correlated with vaccination behaviours. For example, parents who were unfavourable towards vaccination in general were more likely to report that they had at least one child who did not get the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. As this shift in attitude may have a significant impact on future vaccination coverage, health authorities should urgently address the vaccine confidence gap.