Most LIers Would Get Coronavirus Vaccine If They Could: Poll

OCEANSIDE, NY — More than half of people in the New York metro area said they would get a vaccine for the novel coronavirus if it were available, according to the results of a new poll by Mount Sinai South Nassau.

The hospital's latest "Truth in Medicine" poll showed that about 55 percent of residents would get a vaccine for the coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, if it was available. And many more people are concerned about the virus.

However, few people are concerned about the flu this season, the poll shows. Despite the media attention the coronavirus is receiving, far more people have been killed by the flu this year. Since the current flu season started, 16,000 people have died from the virus, the hospital said.

"The flu currently remains a much more dangerous threat to most New Yorkers than the coronavirus," said Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of South Nassau's Department of Medicine and an expert on infectious diseases. "The flu is a potentially fatal disease, and while not perfect, the flu vaccine is a very safe vaccine and it remains the single best defense against the flu.”

The hospital said this is the worst flu season in a decade, but it is overshadowed by the coronavirus outbreak. There have been 29 million confirmed flu cases since the season began in October and thousands of deaths, including 105 children.

That is not to say that the coronavirus is not serous. It spreads in similar ways to a flu or cold, but there is much doctors still don't know about the virus, and there is no vaccine currently available

The majority of respondents — 62 percent — were "highly concerned" about the coronavirus. Of those polled, 72 percent said they were less likely to travel overseas, 48 percent said they were less likely to take mass transit and 46 percent said they were less likely to attend large gatherings.

The poll was conducted among 600 metro area residents from Feb. 5-9.

"There is a flu epidemic on Long Island and across the state. Our hospital and many others are inundated with the flu and seeing more cases than in previous years," said Dr. Adhi Sharma, South Nassau's chief medical officer. "Protect yourself. Standard precautions, such as good hand-washing and observing proper coughing and sneezing etiquette, are still the rule of thumb to prevent against the flu, coronavirus, and many other viruses."