But the poll, conducted Nov. 6-10, also suggested 56 per cent of Canadians had not had an influenza shot this year and were not planning to get one. Twenty-one per cent had already had one and another 21 per cent were going to get it.

The poll of 1,502 Canadians is considered accurate within 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Ontarians seemed the most receptive to the flu shot, with 51 per cent saying they had received it or were going to.

Other regional breakdowns along the same lines were: the Atlantic provinces, 47 per cent; Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 41; Alberta, 41; Quebec, 35; and British Columbia, 34.

Allison McGeer, director of infection control at Mount-Sinai Hospital in Toronto, said the nine per cent of respondents opposed to vaccines may seem low but should still be of concern.

"It (the number) is not going to make anybody involved in public health and in disease prevention happy," McGeer said in an interview. "I think it's a significantly larger proportion of the population than it was three or four years ago."

McGeer said some vaccines may carry risks but their overall efficiency cannot be challenged.

"There is overwhelming evidence that very large numbers of people who used to die, children who used to die, don't die anymore because we use vaccines.

"The . . truth is that a choice against vaccines in general is a bad choice in terms of your health and everybody else's."

The two biggest reasons given by the 135 people opposed to vaccinations were distrust and side-effects.

Dr. Yves Robert of the Quebec Health Department said he wasn't surprised by the 87 per cent figure in favour of shots.

"That number has been pretty steady for years," Robert said in an interview. "Most people trust vaccines."

Robert said he believes the nine per cent opposed might actually represent the number of people who would not accept a vaccine without first asking questions.

The number of "hardliners" opposed to needles is more like two per cent, he said.

McGeer said Ontario and the Yukon are the only jurisdictions in Canada that offer a free influenza shot to all of its residents.

She described as "brilliant" the finding that 42 per cent of Canadian adults would end up with a flu shot this year. That means many people are willing to pay for it, she noted.

Findings to another question suggested 85 per cent of Canadians have heard of the West Nile virus, which killed at least three Canadians this year.

Health officials said earlier this month the virus, which is usually transmitted by mosquitoes, may have killed as many as seven people in Toronto in 2002.

Forty-eight per cent of respondents said they took certain measures, such as avoiding areas with mosquitoes or wearing mosquito repellent, so as not to catch the disease.