Harefuah
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The influenza virus is a well-known cause of pandemics, such as the swine flu (A/H1N1) pandemic and of seasonal epidemics worldwide. Most of the morbidity and mortality due to the virus is caused by the seasonal flu epidemics for which the flu vaccine has been proven to be an efficient preventive measure. On the 22nd of October 2006 the Israeli media widely reported the deaths of three patients who had received the flu vaccine at the same clinic in Kiryat Gat. A nationwide panic arose following these publications and many people were afraid to receive the flu vaccine. ⋯ The results of this survey show that the panic in the Israeli media resulted in a very significant reduction in the rate of vaccination with the flu vaccine at the Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center during the flu season of 2006-7. This reduction in the rate of vaccination resulted in greater morbidity. We can conclude that many people in Israel became sick and even died due to the flu vaccine scare which was never proved to be justified. There is a need to consider how to avoid a similar media-evoked panic reaction in the future which causes damage to the public's health.