Even in a global pandemic, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: the need to get a flu shot.
In fact, receiving a flu shot is more important than ever to avoid burdening the hospitals and health care professionals hard at work fighting Covid-19.
Here’s why it’s important to be protected from the flu:
- The flu has caused between 9 million and 45 million illnesses, up to 810,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 and 61,000 deaths each year since 2010, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Flu season costs our nation billions of dollars annually in direct hospitalizations and health care costs as well as lost productivity.
- Roughly half of all U.S. adults forgo a flu shot each year.
Knowing these risks – and knowing the current strains placed on our health system with rising Covid-19 cases – key health groups, led by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) and International Federation of Ageing (IFA), have launched a #FlattenTheFlu international campaign.
The #FlattenTheFlu campaign exists to promote flu vaccination and raise awareness about the current stressors on our health systems. Consider that:
- The flu vaccine can take a substantial strain off our health care system, which will already be coping—in overdrive—with COVID,” according to Vanderbilt’s Dr. William Schaffner on a recent episode of the I AM BIO Podcast.
- It can help build herd immunity to protect certain at-risk populations, including health care workers, adults over the age of 65, and patients living with chronic medical conditions, who face greater risk of flu-related complications, hospitalization, and death.
- It can reduce individual risk, by preventing infections or making them less severe, and reducing risk of coinfection with influenza/coronavirus.
What can you do to flatten the flu?
- If you haven’t already, get your flu vaccine. To find out where you can get a vaccine near you, visit www.vaccinefinder.org
- Continue social distancing—and wear a mask when you cannot social distance to protect yourself and those around you.
- Join the conversation and share resources with #FlattenTheFlu.
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