We've had a mild Fall thus far and when the sun is shining and the snow is not flying its easy to think
about everything other than the Flu season. October traditionally marks the beginning of the Flu season in the U.S. For years Pinnacol has provided Flu Shots on-site to employees at no cost. So
this morning I dutifully lined up with several hundred fellow employees to extend our
arms in this annual ritual of flu prevention.
You might have heard several years back that Google tracked Flu-related search terms and found search activity to be a good
predictor of how active the flu was by region. The chart to the right is already
showing an uptick for this year and I think several of my co-workers in Human
Resources have already laid claim to having some of the first cases of the
2013-2014 season. The nice folks in Kansas to our east are already reporting moderate flu activity, as are several other states.
During last year's flu season, 41.6 percent of U.S. adults and 56.6 percent of children were vaccinated. With such a low vaccination rate it would seem that we are at risk sooner or later for a whole lot of people suffering through the aches and pains commonly associated with flu symptoms. I checked with Vanessa, who oversees the flu program as part of her benefits administration work at Pinnacol, and she was hopeful that most employees would take advantage of the free shots.
One of my co-workers, who shall remain nameless, is as adamant about not getting the shot as I am about getting it. Thus far she has been fortunate in not getting the flu, but that's a gamble I'd rather not take. How about you? Are you planning on getting a flu shot this year?
For more information regarding this year's flu the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a good site and to see what Google is showing on flu trends (including State by State) click here.
During last year's flu season, 41.6 percent of U.S. adults and 56.6 percent of children were vaccinated. With such a low vaccination rate it would seem that we are at risk sooner or later for a whole lot of people suffering through the aches and pains commonly associated with flu symptoms. I checked with Vanessa, who oversees the flu program as part of her benefits administration work at Pinnacol, and she was hopeful that most employees would take advantage of the free shots.
One of my co-workers, who shall remain nameless, is as adamant about not getting the shot as I am about getting it. Thus far she has been fortunate in not getting the flu, but that's a gamble I'd rather not take. How about you? Are you planning on getting a flu shot this year?
For more information regarding this year's flu the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a good site and to see what Google is showing on flu trends (including State by State) click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment