It’s that time of year again, and we’re here to help you prepare. Flu Prevention Week. We’re already seeing confirmed reports of influenza in the Northern Hemisphere which means it’s time to take steps to protect yourself and everyone you come in contact with.
The flu kills ~3500 Canadians and ~36,000 Americans in an average year, causing ~12, 200 hospitalizations in Canada costing ~$14,000 each. The numbers are devastating. For perspective, the deaths in Canada are roughly the population of the town of Southampton, Ontario or Cobble Hill, British Columbia. In the US it’s a city the size of Dover, Delaware or Goldsboro, North Carolina. These aren’t just numbers. Those are people. Gone.
But they don’t have to be. The flu is preventable when we all do our part. It’s a complicated disease which is why we need to give it so much attention each year. It isn’t just a bad cold or stomach bug, but a serious respiratory illness capable of shutting down organs and systems. We can reduce its impact when we work together. It takes a village.
Join us this week and throughout this season. Grab these tips, and follow us on social media as we have this conversation, and carry it on to your own platforms and with your own community. Every time we take a step to protect ourselves we extend that protection to everyone around us. Every choice we make either increases or decreases the risk to our communities. Let’s all actively choose to be part of safer, healthier communities and prevent more stories like ours. Your flu shot, sick day, or covered sneeze could protect someone’s grandpa, pregnant wife, or Jude. You can do that. You!
Let’s do this. For Jude, For Everyone.
