Smallpox Vaccine Poll: Info Misrepresented, Numbers Doctored

[Guest guest]

(last time they said only 15-20% of fully informed ppl want to get

vaccinated...now it's up to 40? )

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/poll_smallpox021218.html

Dec. 18 — Half of Americans say they would get a smallpox shot if it

were available, according to a new ABCNEWS.com poll.

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That figure drops to four in 10 when the risk of the vaccine is

described in detail, however.

That's substantially less interest in the smallpox vaccine than found

in some previous polls, suggesting that actual participation in a

vaccination program may depend heavily on the information presented

to the public on the risks and benefits involved.

As ABCNEWS first reported last Wednesday, President Bush has ordered

all military and other personnel in high-risk areas to be vaccinated

against smallpox, and said the shot would be offered to health and

emergency personnel first, and then to all Americans on a voluntary

basis by 2004. He said Americans needed ample time and information to

make their own decisions.

Sampling, data collection and tabulation for this poll were done by

TNS Intersearch.

Given that backdrop, this ABCNEWS poll, with no preamble, asked: If a

vaccine that protects people from smallpox became available, would

you yourself get the shot, or not?

Fifty percent said they would. Those respondents were then told of

the " small risk " — health authorities say that out of every one

million people who get the vaccine, one or two will die and about 10

will face serious complications. Forty percent were still inclined to

get the shot.

By contrast, one poll last week asked about the shot after a number

of questions raising the issue of biological terrorism, specifying

that terrorists might use smallpox, and saying without details that

the vaccine " may produce serious side effects in a small number of

cases. " In that survey 64 percent said they'd get the vaccine.

In this poll, interest in the vaccine was somewhat lower in the West

than in other regions, and somewhat lower among men. Given the risk,

half of men said they wouldn't want the shot, compared to 42 percent

of women. Women were a bit more apt to be unsure.

Methodology

This ABCNEWS survey was conducted by telephone Dec. 11-15, among a

random national sample of 1,030 adults. The results have a three-

point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation was

conducted by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa. ABCNEWS polls can be

found at the Poll Vault.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/PollVault/PollVault.html