The most surprising information to come out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s briefing on the H1N1 flu outbreak today does not concern the disease itself, but pubic opinion.

According to Prof. Robert Blendon of the Harvard School of Public Health, 77 percent of Americans surveyed say they continue to follow news stories about H1N1, even though 61 percent say they’re not worried about themselves or their families getting sick from the virus in the next 12 months. That’s up from last week, when 53 percent said they were not worried. Normally, people stop following diseases in the news after they stop considering those diseases a direct threat. Prof. Blendon interprets it this way:

We think what people are saying is that they are following the news closely because they’re both interested and uncertain about the risk for themselves and their families during the next year. So even though they’re not immediately worried at this point, they are uncertain. So, they’re going to pay a lot of attention to whatever comes out as the days and weeks go by.

The survey suggests 83 percent of the general public believe local, state and federal health officials are managing the outbreak well and doing a good job getting information out.

However, parents of school age children are substantially more concerned than the rest of the population about the risks of their families getting the disease. Half of these parents report not knowing what their schools are doing in response to the outbreak, according to Prof. Blendon, who said this high level of concern needs to be addressed.

For additional information, visit the CDC’s website at: pandemicflu.gov.

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