Most Canadians think media over-hyped swine flu threat

Opposition politicians and the media may be hammering governments for their handling of the H1N1 situation, but a new poll suggests Canadians themselves feel their governments are doing an OK job. The media's coverage of H1N1 on the other hand - well, that doesn't earn much admiration. The latest Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey found that overall, most respondents see all three levels of government as having done at least a fair job of preparing for, and dealing with, the H1N1 flu virus.

When it comes to media coverage, 65 per cent of Canadians surveyed said news organizations had overreacted to H1N1 influenza.

"That says to me that Canadians are leaning pretty heavily towards saying there's been a bit more hype about this than they might have found preferable," said the pollster, adding that the age, level of education and sex of respondents made little difference.