With the flu season in full swing, new information from the Centers for Disease Control should be unsettling to human resource departments.
A virulent strain of flu has taken over the lead in number of cases charted, and it's one the CDC says could extract a big toll from business.
The cost of the flu to employers has been well-documented. Unfortunately, so has the percentage of workers each year who refuse to be vaccinated against the various strains out there.
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What makes this year potentially more draining on company resources is the strain that's making the rounds, known as influenza A, or H3N2. According to the CDC, about half the H3N2 viruses weren't among those included in this year's vaccine.
That means that we have about half of the workforce running around without having been vaccinated, and of the half who have, many of them won't be protected against the H3N2 viruses not included in the vaccine.
These factors probably had something to do with the uptick in flu activity reported by the CDC for the week ending Nov. 29, the latest week for which the CDC had complete data. The CDC said activity continued to increase during the week of Nov. 29-Dec. 6.
Widespread flu activity was reported by 14 states: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Lesser activity was reported elsewhere across the country.
Particularly for employers in the high activity states, a trip to the CDC's "information for businesses & employers" website might not only prevent an outbreak at work, but will limit the bite the flu will take out of this winter's profits.
"The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get a yearly flu vaccine, but good health habits and antiviral medications are other measures that can help protect against the flu," the CDC advises employers on this page. Contents include online resources, materials that can be downloaded, a checklist to promote vaccination, FAQs about flu and the workplace, and myriad other tools to protect the workplace for a flu epidemic.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
