Although the first batch of swine flu vaccines are supposed to be ready and licenced by October, most healthcare workers do not want to be the first to be vaccinated. The reason behind the reluctance is the 1976 swine flu fiasco in the US when the vaccine supposedly killed 25 people while the virus only claimed one life.

This was revealed in an editorial and a study which has been published online by the prestigious British Medical Journal on Wednesday. The study, which was carried out among 2,255 healthcare workers in Hong Kong hospitals, showed only 47.9 per cent health workers had an intention to take the shots. This was inspite of WHO declaring a Phase 5 alert for the swine flu pandemic.

BMJ also quotes evidence from a study conducted on 11 focus groups in Canada that indicates parents and healthcare workers may refuse to be vaccinated or to vaccinate their children if they believe that the risks outweigh the benefits.

Also a survey by Israel’s Ministry of Health found that at least 25 per cent of the population is not willing to be vaccinated against swine flu.

BMJ, quoting an online poll conducted by the Nursing Times, reports that 37 per cent of frontline nurses who replied were currently planning to be vaccinated, 33 per cent were undecided, but 30 per cent were not planning to be vaccinated. It also says the uptake of seasonal flu vaccines in winter have been traditionally low— in winter 2008-09, only 16.5 per cent of healthcare workers in England agreed to be given the flu vaccine.

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