The pandemic has increased older adults’ willingness to receive the flu shot, new research shows.
The study analyzed survey results of 4,501 Canadians over the age of 50 from ten provinces.
Twenty per cent of 1,001 research participants aged 50 to 64 indicated they had not considered getting a flu shot, but were now more likely to given the impact of COVID-19. Of these respondents, 92 per cent inducated that they had not been vaccinated against influenza the year before.
Of the 3,500 participants aged 65 and older, eight per cent reported that they had not originally planned to get a flu shot but were now more likely to receive it.
“The pandemic has been a sobering demonstration of the dangers of infectious diseases,” said Nancy Waite, a professor at the School of Pharmacy and the lead author on the study. “We’ve seen changing perceptions of the value of vaccines and a documented change in people’s willingness to consider getting vaccinated.”