How come so many people decided not to get vaccinated against the H1N1 pandemic? According to an analysis by the Harvard School of Public Health, the people who decided not to get vaccinated either didn't believe the H1N1 pandemic was as serious as it was portrayed to be, or they were not convinced the pandemic flu vaccine was safe, or both.
Some people were concerned that, as the pandemic flu vaccine was rushed into production, that this haste might have affected the safety of the vaccine. Some didn't trust information they received from public health officials.
The Harvard School of Public Health's analysis, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was compiled from 20 national opinion polls that had been taken throughout the H1N1 pandemic of last winter. H1N1 is also called swine flu.
"Public health officials, take note: the 'If we build it, they will come' approach to a pandemic flu vaccine isn’t going to work. You’re also going to have to convince people that the illness is a serious health threat, and that the vaccine is safe."
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/05/19/people-who-skipped-h1n1-vaccine-didnt-think-flu-was-dangerous