The Emotional Epidemiology of H1N1 Influenza Vaccination

[indigo girl]

Written by Danielle Ofri, M.D., Ph.D. this appears in New England Journal of Medicine

Last spring, when 2009 H1N1 influenza first came to our attention, my patients were in a panic. Our clinic was flooded with calls and walk-in patients, all with the same question: "When will there be a vaccine?"

It was all so new then, and we didn't have an answer. That lack of answer seemed to fuel anxiety to a fever pitch. A substantial co- hort of my patients continued calling, almost on a weekly basis, to ask about the vaccine.

These, of course, were the same patients who routinely refused the seasonal fluvaccine. Each year we'd go through the same drill: I'd offer them the flu shot. I'd explain the clinical reasoning behind this recommendation. I'd strongly encourage vaccination.

More at: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/NEJMp0911047.pdf

(hat tip flutrackers/ironorehopper)