The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that flu affects between 5 and 10% of adults and 20 and 30% of children each year. These attacks result in between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths each year, including between 40,000 and 220,000 in Europe and around 36,000 in the United States.

Even with today’s low vaccination coverage rates, every season the vaccination brings important benefits in public health terms: preventing 1.6 million cases; and saving 25,000 lives. Furthermore, flu shots lead to 43% fewer days off work, saving an average of $47 per person each year

The economic consequences of the illness are significant: in the United States alone the overall economic burden of direct medical costs of hospitalizations and GP visits are estimated to exceed $10.4 billion annually. Add to that the indirect costs – namely lost productivity of between 1.3 and 4.9 days due to absence from work or school. With immunization, up to EUR248 million in flu-related costs can be saved each season, including more than 45,000 hospitalizations and 700,000 visits to a general practitioner.

Most experts believe that flu viruses are mainly spread by droplets that are formed when people with flu cough, sneeze, or talk, landing in the mouths or noses of others nearby.

A person could also become infected by touching a surface or object contaminated by the flu virus and then touching their own mouth, eyes, or possibly nose. Studies have shown that human flu viruses can survive on surfaces for between two and eight hours.

Anyone can get the flu, but certain people are at greater risk of developing serious flu-related complications. This includes people of 65 years and older, young children, pregnant women, and people with certain chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease.

Complications of flu can include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration, and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes.

The people most at risk of complications from the flu are the very people who regularly attend your hospitals and medical clinics. It doesn’t matter if you have only weak or even no symptoms, if you continue to work when you have the flu you can easily spread the virus to not only your own vulnerable patients, but also to your coworkers who in turn can pass it on to their patients.

The single best way to protect yourself against the flu is by getting a flu vaccine each year.

There are also other steps that you can take to help prevent the spread of flu:
- Avoid close contact with infected people and if you became infected yourself, limit contact with others as much as possible.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue away after using it.
- Wear a facemask at all times, especially during patient-care activities.
- Wash your hands regularly with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

As healthcare professionals, we have an ethical obligation to act with the safety of our patients as our top priority. We are aware that we can easily spread the flu to our vulnerable patients. But at the same time, we also know that flu shots can protect our patients from infection and save lives, and that the vaccine is safe. Knowing these facts, getting the flu vaccine ourselves, and talking to our patients, family, and colleagues about getting immunized helps reduce infections while spreading the message not the flu.

The flu vaccine is not approved for children younger than six months old. People who have previously had a severe allergic reaction to the flu vaccine should also generally not be immunized. People who have ever had a severe allergic reaction to eggs may also be advised not to get vaccinated.

There are some people who should not get a flu vaccine without first consulting a physician. These include:
- People who have a moderate-to-severe illness with or without a fever. They should wait until they recover before getting immunized.
- People with a history of Guillain–Barré Syndrome (a severe paralytic illness, also called GBS) that occurred after receiving influenza vaccine and who are not at risk for severe illness from flu should generally not receive the vaccine.
- People who have had a mild reaction to egg may receive a flu shot with additional precautions

Reports of flu outbreaks originating in hospitals have already started to surface in the popular media. Last flu season they made the headlines in some of the major newspapers. As the public becomes more aware that healthcare workers are largely unvaccinated, our healthcare systems will lose trust and credibility. If this happens, we risks losing our ability to make our own policy decisions and compromise professional autonomy. Instead, decisions may fall to enforcement organizations and legislative policy makers.

Of course your efforts matter! A small thing can make a big difference. By openly talking about your flu shot and encouraging others – at your practice, your hospital, or even at home – to get theirs too, together we can significantly increase the positive impact already being made by the flu vaccine available to us today.

The resources section of this website provides a variety of materials that you can share with your team. There are also links to credible sources that can supply more detailed information about the flu and what you can do about it.

Go and get the flu vaccine this year and commit to getting it ever year from now on, and then ask others to do the same. Start your own internal campaign, sharing the information on this website with your colleagues and friends, at work, at home, and even on social media – especially the video…