Only 40% of Canadians received an H1NI shot

According to some self-reported data shared by Statistics Canada today only four in ten Canadians were vaccinated against the H1N1 virus. For those of you trying to do the math -- that's only about 16.5 million people in Canada.

This relatively new influenza strain reared its ugly head in April of 2009 and caused quite the wide spread panic.

So why such a low vaccination rate? The most common reason -- at 74% -- given by Canadians who did not receive the shot was that they did not think it was necessary. Second most common reason, recorded at 13%, was that they had not gotten around to it yet. And finally, in third place, is fear. Many of those surveyed, however, hesitated to explain the nature of their fear of being vaccinated with the H1N1 shot.

Interestingly enough 66 of the health-care workers in Canada said they received the H1N1 shot, compared with the mere 35% who did within the rest of the population -- only 3% (on average) higher than the percentage of the population that get seasonal flu shots.

A final statistic to note here is from Public Heath Agency of Canada: 428 Canadians have been documented as dying from H1N1 and thousands more were infected. The pandemic was declared over in August by the World Health Organization.

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By: Bambi Blue

Bambi Blue is a freelance writer, editor, and codemonkey living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She moonlights as a jazz musician, a social butterfly, and most apparently a weisenheimer. Loves to cook, hates to clean, and can easily be found on Twitter.