Flu Season’s Here: Are You Vaccinated?
The flu may be common, but it’s nothing to take lightly. Every year, 200,000 Americans wind up in the hospital from a bout of influenza. That’s a nice way of saying, it’s time to get your flu shot.
The AFL-CIO is teaming up with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to encourage all Americans to take this simple measure to avoid getting the flu, which affects up to 20 percent of the U.S. population each year. According to the CDC, flu rates are increasing in some high-risk communities:
While among certain populations and within some communities influenza vaccination rates have increased (such as among children and pregnant women), overall vaccination rates remain low, which makes it vital for CDC to communicate the necessity of influenza vaccination to these at-risk communities on a consistent basis. Let’s create healthier communities, one flu vaccination at a time.
More information is available here. You can order free CDC publications on the flu, useful for distribution to your members, here. Or download and print from this link.
Did You Get Your Flu Shot Yet?
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If you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet, this coming week is a great time to go ahead and protect yourself and your family from those nasty ravages of the flu. Dec. 8 kicks off the third annual National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with Families Fighting Flu, designated the week to remind families who have not yet been vaccinated about the seriousness of influenza, the value of vaccination and that it is not too late to get a flu vaccine. The AFL-CIO is part of the coalition.
Tuesday has been designated Children’s Flu Vaccination Day and will focus on vaccinating children and their close contacts. Thursday is set as Seniors’ Vaccination day and Healthcare Professionals Vaccination Day is Friday.
