General News
Published September 20, 2021
As the crisp air moves in and daylight gets shorter, we will face another sign of fall: the flu. This year the flu is likely to pose a challenge as we continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic, and the flu has similar symptoms.
The flu and COVID-19 have symptoms in common, such as fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, runny nose, muscle pain, and headache. COVID-19 often comes with loss of or change in senses of taste and smell. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention keeps an updated guide on the similarities and differences of symptoms between the two diseases.
Because it takes about 2 weeks for the body to build up antibodies after receiving the flu shot, the CDC recommends getting vaccinated early in the fall, before the flu season begins. Every year, millions of people get the flu, hundreds of thousands of
people are hospitalized, and thousands to tens of thousands of people die from flu-related causes, according to the CDC.
Measures that will slow the spread of COVID-19 will also slow the spread of influenza, so continue to physically distance, wash hands, and wear a mask when in public spaces. And although getting the flu shot will not protect you against COVID-19, reducing
the risk of the flu could help keep emergency rooms clear for people with COVID-19.
What you
can do
- Host a mobile flu shot clinic for your employees at your workplace. You can use this list of in-network providers to get started.
- Your Employee Communications Center, accessible when you log in to your secure
employer account, also offers content you can share with your employees about the flu vaccine and how vaccinations work. Look for the topics titled flu
vaccine and vaccinations.
- Do your employees have questions about COVID-19 vaccinations? Your Employee Communications Center also offers a COVID-19 topic that you can share with your employees.