A random telephone survey of Harvard and Radcliffe undergraduates yesterday revealed that a majority of students are skeptical of the value of the U.S. swine flu vaccination program.
Forty-nine per cent of responding students indicated that they do not plan to submit to vaccination, while 35 per cent said they would line up at UHS whether or not swine flu reappeared this fall.
All of the 37 students polled had heard of swine flu.
Most undergraduates who said they plan to ask for the vaccine said they felt the risk involved was minimal and saw no reason to gamble on contracting swine flu. The skeptics pointed to the unlikelihood of an epidemic and the unknown risks of the vaccine.
One Business School student, contacted accidentally, said he would take the vaccine "if they market it hard." A Harvard undergraduate said that he "knew very little about it and was willing to trust the federal government."
Representing the opposing viewpoint, a Harvard junior said, "I haven't seen anyone getting sick and dropping off, and I've got a lot of other business to attend to.
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