The outbreak of A/H1N1 influenza (henceforth, swine flu) in 2009 was characterized mainly by morbidity rates among young people. This study examined the factors affecting the intention to be vaccinated against the swine flu among students in Israel. Questionnaires were distributed in December 2009 among 387 students at higher-education institutions. The research questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and Health Belief Model principles. The results show that the factors positively affecting the intention to take the swine flu vaccine were past experience with seasonal flu shot and three HBM categories: higher levels of perceived susceptibility for catching the illness, perceived seriousness of illness, and lower levels of barriers. We conclude that offering the vaccine at workplaces may raise the intention to take the vaccine among young people in Israel. 1. Introduction On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization issued a statement declaring that the A/H1N1 influenza virus (henceforth, the swine flu) had reached pandemic proportions [1, 2]. Around 30,000 people worldwide have died because of this virus, including 17,000 in the USA and around 90 in Israel [3, 4]. Governments geared up to launch national programs to vaccinate the population against the swine flu. Most governments planned to vaccinate groups of people at risk and healthcare personnel in the first stage and the entire population in the second stage [5]. Yet, while compliance rates were quite high in some countries, such as Australia (67%) and France (60%) [1, 6], in others the rates remained quite low. For example, according to a representative survey carried out by the CDC in 2010, by February 2010 only 23.4% of Americans had been vaccinated against the swine flu, while in Israel by February 2010 less than 10% had taken the new vaccine [7]. The purpose of the current study was to examine the factors affecting the intention among students in Israel to be vaccinated against the swine influenza. We chose to focus on this group of young people because the swine flu affected not only at-risk groups but also young people in the labor force. In fact, a major difference between seasonal influenza A and the 2009 outbreak of H1N1 influenza was the age distribution of life-threatening cases and deaths [8]. According to media reports, most deaths from H1N1 2009 influenza were among young and middle-aged adults. In contrast, most deaths from seasonal influenza A occur in the older population, while deaths of young people due to seasonal influenza are rare [9]. Indeed, the true
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