On-site clinic makes it easy to protect employees; New Quadrivalent vaccine protects against four strains
Flu season is right around the corner, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. Employers lose billions each year when workers call in sick. As many as 111 million workdays are lost annually because of influenza, which means a $7 billion hit in sick days and lost productivity, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Star Wellness makes keeping the workplace healthy and productive simple, with flu shot clinics set up at businesses and easily accessible to employees.
“Protecting your workforce is made easy with an on-site clinics,” says Star Wellness founder and CEO Johnette van Eeden.
“Shots are cost-effective. Paying for even one sick day can be more expensive than the entire cost of protecting employees, especially since it’s estimated that someone who goes to work with the flu will infect four co-workers as well.”
The flu season can start as early as October and stick around well into May, although peak months are late January and early
February, according to the CDC. Once innoculated, it takes just two weeks to build immunity.
Vaccine manufacturers estimate that between 135 million and 139 million doses of influenza vaccine will be available this fall.
But once those are gone, it’s too late for manufacturers to produce more because it takes months to create.
Flu vaccines typically have been designed to cover the three most common strains: Influenza A (H1N1) viruses, influenza A (H3N2) viruses, and influenza B viruses. This year, the new Quadrivalent flu shot available through Star Wellness protects against a fourth strain. That B strain has been blamed year after year over the past decade for making people sick even when they have received a flu shot. However, the medical community has to wait and see which influenza strains will wreck havoc.
Until those stats start rolling in, there’s no predicting just how intense and widespread flu outbreaks will be.
Last year, the flu season caused widespread misery and was dubbed as the worst in a decade. Spot shortages only added to the suffering, and many areas also ran out of the liquid Tamiflu for children. Boston even declared a health emergency.
Make sure you don’t get caught in a bind this season. Make plans to protect your employees and your bottom line today!
