Flu Shots and Immunizations

As you consider whether to schedule employee flu vaccinations at your worksite, consider the costs if you don’t make it easy and convenient for employees to get the vaccine.

An annual flu vaccine is recommended for all people six months and older, with some exceptions. And people with underlying health conditions are at a higher risk of getting the flu and having serious complications.

The benefits of workplace vaccination

For Employers:

• Reduces costs by decreasing time missed from work to get vaccinated.
• Reduces costs by reducing absences due to illness, resulting in improved productivity.
  
• Vaccination often already covered under employee health plans.

For Employees:

• Reduces absences due to sickness & doctor visits.
• Improves health and morale.
• Employees are more likely to get the vaccine because it’s convenient.
  

The CDC recommends that people get their flu vaccine in September or October — after the new vaccine arrives and before flu season typically starts.

Physicians Quality Care OCCMed will provide employee flu shots at your work site on your schedule.

The sooner you find out if you have the flu, the sooner you’ll get better. You’ll also be less likely to spread the flu misery to others.

Flu symptoms

Flu, which is different from a cold, can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Flu usually comes on suddenly.

People who have flu often feel some or all of these symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting. And though fever is a symptom of the flu, it’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

Stay home and avoid contact

If you get sick with flu symptoms, you should stay home from work, school, social events and public gatherings so you are less likely to spread the flu to others.

Studies show that prompt treatment with antiviral drugs can prevent serious complica-tions. Prompt treatment can mean the difference between having a milder illness versus a very serious illness that could result in a hospital stay.

The benefit of antiviral treatment is greatest if treatment is started within two days after the onset of illness. How long?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone – except to get medical care or necessities.

Most people who become sick will recover in a few days to less than two weeks, but some people may become more severely ill.

Following flu infection, moderate complications, such as secondary ear and sinus infections, can occur. Pneumonia is a more serious flu complication.

Those at higher risk for complications include people who are over 65, children under 2, pregnant women, and people with certain chronic medical conditions.

Spreading the flu

When infected people cough, sneeze or talk, they can spread influenza viruses in respiratory droplets to people who are nearby.

People might also get flu by touching a contaminated surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth or nose.

So, if you have the flu, stay away from others as much as possible. Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or wear a face mask. Wash your hands often.

Source: CDC

Your job may significantly increase your risk of catching the flu, with potential implications for the spread of other infectious diseases including COVID-19, according to new research.

On average, working folks are 35 percent more likely to get the flu than those without jobs, but an analysis of U.S. federal data found sharp differences between certain jobs and industries.

The more work-related contact people had with others, the greater their flu risk. For example, people working in sales had a 41 percent higher risk than farmers, and those in education, health and social services jobs had a 52 percent higher risk than miners.

Source: HealthDay

For many reasons.

✔ Flu vaccination can keep people from getting sick with flu. For example, during 2019-2020, the last flu season before the COVID-19 pandemic, flu vaccination prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza illnesses and 3.7 million flu-associated medical visits.

✔ Flu vaccination reduces severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick. A 2021 study showed that among adults hospitalized with flu, vaccinated patients had a 26 percent lower risk of being admitted to the ICU and a 31 percent lower risk of death from flu compared with those who were unvaccinated.

✔ Flu vaccinations prevent tens of thousands of hospitalizations each year. In the 2019-2020 flu season, flu vaccine prevented 105,000 flu-associated hospitalizations.

✔ Flu vaccination can reduce the risk of complications with other diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart disease.

Influenza is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and even death, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

An annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to reduce your risk of getting sick with the flu and spreading it to others. When more people get vaccinated against the flu, less flu can spread through your workplace and our community.

The CDC recommends that every person 6 months of age or older get the flu shot by the end of October.

This year’s flu vaccine is updated to better match circulating viruses, the CDC reports. It takes about two weeks for the flu vaccine to develop antibodies.

Each year, millions of people get the flu, hundreds of thousands of people are hospitalized and tens of thousands of people die from flu-related causes. Even healthy people can get very sick and spread the flu to others.