With the flu season only just around the corner, are flu vaccinations part of your wellbeing strategy?

In this article, we bust some common myths around flu and provide you with more information on how to protect your team.

• Having a flu vaccine does not mean that you won’t get flu. Having a vaccination though will reduce your risk of catching an infection for 7 or 8 people out of every 10 who have it.
•  There is no such thing as ‘a touch of flu’! One common question doctors ask their patients is whether they would have the energy to pick up a £50 they saw on the ground. If the answer is ‘yes’, they have a cold. If the answer is ‘no’, they have flu.
• You cannot catch flu from a flu vaccination. Since the virus has to multiply inside you to give you influenza, it is impossible to catch flu from the vaccine.
• If you have the flu vaccine, it does not protect you against other viral infections. If you still get a cough and cold after you’ve had the vaccine, that does not mean that it hasn’t worked.
•  Having had a flu vaccine in the past does not mean you’re protected this year. Neither does a past dose of flu. The influenza virus evolves every year. That means your body may not recognise the virus even if you’ve had a past infection.

Every year, the Department of Health asks GPs to invite everyone in high-risk groups to get protected with the flu immunisation. Here is advice from NHS Choices about who should have a vaccination.

If you’re not in a high risk group, it doesn’t mean that you are less likely to catch flu.  If you work outside, in a big air conditioned office or if you want to substantially cut the risk of infection and time off work, then a vaccine is a serious consideration.

Flu vouchers are a great benefit to offer your staff.  Many high street chemists and supermarkets now have the facility to administer flu vaccines and individuals can turn up with their voucher at their own convenience.  If you don’t get a vaccine this winter, you might find out the hard way that another myth – ‘the side effects of the flu vaccine are worse than getting flu’ – is a lot of rubbish too.

Take a proactive approach to prevent an outbreak of flu within your organisation with our Flu Vouchers service
Alternatively, if you’d like to talk about an onsite flu vaccination programme, please Contact Us for more information.