Flu Vaccination

Prevention is better than Cure

Flu vaccinations in combination with the Medwork flu prevention plan prove to be a successful way to keep your sick leave numbers at bay during a flu season.

Flu versus Cold

Suffering from a cold usually means suffering from annoying symptoms such as: stuffed or runny nose, sneezing and pains or headaches due to congested sinuses. In more severe cases a common cold can lead to ‘blocked’ ears and slight dizzy spells and/or upper respiratory tract symptoms, such as coughing or sore throat. In most cases a common cold will not lead to disability for work.

Symptoms for a viral flu infection, such as a seasonal flu, are usually more severe. Besides the above mentioned symptoms for a common cold, an infected person will suffer from:

Fever
Cold shivers
Muscle aches and pains
Fatigue
Serious headaches
Sometimes gastro intestinal complaints such as diarrhea and/or vomiting.

Infection with a flu virus will almost always lead to a short period of disability for work. Usually a person will not be able to work for a period of 2-5 days.

Who can suffer a seasonal flu?

Everybody can be infected with a flu virus. A person’s overall physical condition and immune system will determine if a person will get sick or not. Promoting good hygiene during the flu season is highly recommended and a healthy lifestyle and promoting physical health are key points in preventing an outbreak of seasonal flu within your company. Be advised however that not only people that have frequent contact with others (front desk workers, nurses, etcetera) can be infected with a flu virus. Most people will get infected during normal daily activities such as grabbing hold of a shopping cart. How does a flu vaccine work?

A flu vaccine will introduce very small amounts of 2-4 most common strains of flu viruses into your system, allowing your immune system to ‘learn and prepare’ for a possible infection with a flu virus, without getting sick. If at a later stage the body is threatened by a flu virus infection, your immune system is already ‘prepared’ and much more able to fight off the virus and prevent the body from getting sick. How effective is a flu vaccine?

Studies show that 80% of the people who received the vaccine will not get sick from a flu virus infection within the year following the vaccination. It is reasonable therefore to assume that offering a flu vaccine for your staff members is most likely to influence your sick leave numbers during the flu season. Due to the fact that flu viruses tend to mutate, it is necessary to repeat the vaccination every year with the most ‘up to date’ vaccine. Side effects

The vaccine will be injected under the skin of the upper arm (a simple rolling up of the sleeve will do). The needle used is much thinner than the one that is, for example, used when drawing blood. This means that the vaccination is not a painful event. Mild side effects, such as: local swelling and redness of skin, slight stiffness of the upper arm or the sensation that a person has ‘a flu coming up’ for 2 days, are common side effects. Be advised!

A flu vaccination does not protect against the common cold.

It takes the body up to two weeks to fully react to the vaccination. This means that within these first two weeks the possibility to get infected will remain. Risks and costs

Employees that belong to certain risk groups such as:

People 65+ years
People suffering Asthma
People suffering COPD
People with Diabetes
People known with Cardiovascular disease
People who suffered stroke
Cancer patients
Children < 5 years, especially < 2 years
Pregnant women
HIV/AIDS patients
People suffering auto-immune disease.

Will usually be able to get a prescription for a flu vaccine from their family physician and in doing so the costs will be covered by their health insurance. At Medwork or in-house:

If you decide to offer group vaccinations for your employees, we are able to perform group vaccinations for your employees on the premises of your company creating a minimum time lost from work for those participating in the program. For more information on the Medwork flu vaccination program please contact us at +297 587 8880.