Flu season and COVID-19: Why it’s more important than ever for your employees to get a flu vaccine

Learn how you can keep your workforce safe and healthy as we face a challenging flu season ahead

Flu season is shaping up to be very different this year. While influenza viruses are detected year-round, the peak of flu activity is usually between December and February each year. [1] Leading health organizations, including the CDC, recommend a yearly flu vaccine—and in 2020 this will be more important than ever.

Join us to learn what may be in store this flu season, why it’s so important for your employees to get vaccinated, and how we’re working hard to help our clients and health center members stay educated and protected.

What’s different about the 2020 flu season?

With the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting people all over the world, it’s essential to protect yourself and others during the upcoming flu season.

Why? It is possible to be infected with both the flu and COVID-19 at the same time. Health officials do not yet know the likelihood of having both viruses simultaneously. However, it’s believed that co-infection may increase the severity of COVID-19, increasing the risk of life-threatening complications.

Why is getting the flu vaccine so important this year?

As well as taking everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs, getting a flu shot is the single most effective way to reduce your risk of becoming infected with influenza. The flu virus mutates over time, so having an up-to-date flu shot is your best way to stay protected.

For employers, encouraging and enabling your employees to get vaccinated not only helps protect them as individuals, but also helps to protect the rest of your workforce. The more people who are vaccinated, the less the likelihood of “community spread” of the flu virus—meaning a workforce that stays healthy and well.

Getting a flu shot also reduces the likelihood of your employees needing to seek medical attention for a flu-like illness, meaning they won’t have to visit a medical facility that may possibly increase their exposure to COVID-19.

Flu vaccines will not prevent COVID-19, but they will reduce the burden of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths on the health care system and conserve scarce medical resources for the care of people with COVID-19.

The CDC estimates that last year, fewer than half of Americans got a flu vaccine and at least 410,000 people were hospitalized from the flu. [2] If more people are vaccinated, this extra burden on health systems will be reduced—freeing up hospital teams and resources to treat those affected by the pandemic.

Getting vaccinated will also minimize the risk of misdiagnosis, making it easier to recognize and diagnose COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses that present symptoms similar to the flu.

How we’re educating and protecting health center members during flu season and COVID-19

At WeCare tlc, we’re working tirelessly to minimize the effects of COVID‐19 and keep our communities as healthy as possible. As we face these difficult times, healthcare as we know it has changed. Our entire team is joining forces to continue revolutionizing the way healthcare is delivered across the country. 

To support employers, we’re sharing a variety of health tools and resources to help them effectively communicate with their teams about the importance of getting vaccinated.

About our flu vaccination program

Our flu vaccination program is open to all health center members, and is available at no cost to them. To make getting vaccinated as convenient as possible, we’re offering vaccinations both onsite at health centers, and onsite at client campuses.

We offer Flucelvax Quadrivalent, a cell-based flu vaccine at participant locations. The reason we choose to offer this vaccine is because it minimizes the risk of allergy compared to using an egg-based vaccine, and because of its quicker production and availability in the event of vaccine shortages.

“This year, we’re definitely seeing an increased interest in getting vaccinated,” said Dr. Fayshonda Cooks, Chief of Clinical Services at WeCare tlc. “Many of our clients are already ordering their second or even third restock of the flu vaccine with us.

Fortunately, we are able to meet this demand because we proactively ordered our vaccination supply very early in the year. Our clients are having a positive response to our efforts, and we’re proud to be able to keep everyone who needs it prepared and protected for flu season.”

You’ll find the latest advice from our clinical teams as well as a NEW Symptom Self-checker powered by the CDC.

As a leading provider of onsite and nearsite health centers, we’re devoted to the health and wellness of every member, client, partner and team member we serve.

If you’d like to learn more, please contact us today.