A new influenza (flu) season is upon us and it is widespread nationwide. Thirty-two states have experienced high flu patient traffic, making this year’s flu season the most hectic for hospitals since at least 2009.
While the impact of flu varies, it places a substantial burden on the health of people in the United States each year. CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in 9.2 million-35.6 million illnesses, 140,000-710,000 hospitalizations and 12,000-56,000 deaths annually since 2010.
Many workers in the workplace have already have received their annual flu vaccine, which is the best way to prevent the illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Yet, they are claiming that this year’s vaccination is only 30% effective to the current strain that is spreading across the U.S.
The flu arrived early this year in our household, beating Santa down the chimney by five days. I quickly learned just how widespread the flu actually was when I went to fill my college-aged daughter’s Tamiflu prescription and discovered that they were sold out, sending me across town to find a pharmacy that still had a short supply.
From the CDC
My wife and I quickly went into full out combat-infection control mode and quarantined our daughter to her bedroom, where she binge-watched Netflix and Hulu for two straight days until the flu bug was purged.
Thankfully we were able to contain it. Being married to a nurse helped fend off this dreaded microorganism. I have never lived the life of a germophobe, but when the flu invades my community I find myself starting to fist bump people instead of shaking people’s hands and will evade and shun those who show any signs of the flu.
I also steer clear of the over-aggressive church greeter who persists on shaking every single person’s hand as they walk into the auditorium. I avoid any eye-contact, keep both hands in my pockets and time my entry as she is shaking hands with someone else. Every time I sneak past her, I just know she is adding my name once again to the prayer-list so my spirit will fill one day with the same Holy Ghost that makes her so blissful.
The fact is as I have grown older I have grown to absolutely despise the Flu; and I am always one of the first to get in line for my flu shot every year. Knock on wood, ever since receiving a flu shot on a regular basis, I haven’t had the flu in over 13-14 years.
If there’s a fever, it’s likely the flu
Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s it was a different story however, as it seemed we all caught the flu every single year. I truly believe that it was because of the pressure that our parents and the school system put on us to receive that “Perfect Attendance” certificate at the end of the school year — as we would all soldier through our flu like symptoms in class until we tossed our cookies and would be sent home by teachers.
As a parent I would refuse to allow my children to take any pride in receiving a perfect attendance certificate. I would point to the overjoyed, clapping and smiling parents of those kids who received their perfect attendance certificates and blame them for having to burn my treasured vacation days to stay home to attend to my kids.
The same occurs in the workplace as well, as many people will chose to power through their miserable day instead of having to burn precious vacation days. Others unfortunately realize that staying home may mean that they don’t get paid, or don’t have any more sick days or vacation time left when the flu arrives, making it a tough call.
Over the years I have subscribed to powering through a sick-day mentality, especially if I didn’t have a fever. I usually will request if I can work from home, or if I must go into the office I will avoid touching anything, shut my door and avoid as little contact as possible.
Most experts recommend that people stay home when they have a fever because this is when they are most contagious. A Walgreens survey noted that 80 percent of workers showed up on the job despite having flu symptoms and are responsible for 100 million lost work days in the U.S. every year.
The fact is employees are reluctant to take time off and will prefer to report to work in order to keep up with deadlines and demands. Sick employees, however, are likely not to be working at an optimum level and can expose themselves and others not only to germs, but also can become injured because of the lack of focus from their illness.
The cost of getting the flu is generally greater than a dose of prevention. Yet most people apparently don’t mind the risk and will avoid the vaccine. According to a recent CNBC story, the financial impact to Americans has been estimated to be $10.4 billion in direct costs — for hospitalizations and outpatient visits for working adults. But the indirect costs can be as much as 10 times higher than the direct medical costs. These costs can be tied to loss productivity, the cost of lost opportunities, to having to hire temporary workers or substitutes.
To reduce these indirect costs employers should offer and promote the flu vaccinations. They should encourage sick workers to stay home or be flexible and allow them to work from home whenever possible. They should make hand sanitizer readily available, promoting good hand hygiene & cough etiquette and step up workplace cleaning practices.
Remember if the flu enters your workplace it can be far more costly than you can accurately quantify to your bottom-line.
Be Safe My Friends!
Keven Moore works in risk management services and is an expert witness. He has a bachelor’s degree from University of Kentucky, a master’s from Eastern Kentucky University and 25-plus years of experience in the safety and insurance profession. He lives in Lexington with his family and works out of both the Lexington and Northern Kentucky offices. Keven can be reached at kmoore@roeding.com.
