Getting a Flu Shot is More Important than Ever

Getting an annual flu shot will help protect Alaskans from the flu – and hopefully prevent dual epidemics of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza that would place further strain on Alaska’s health care system. See the press release issued by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) earlier this month. They urge all Alaskans, ages six months and older, to get vaccinated against the flu before the end of October. It’s especially important for older adults, pregnant women, young children, and those with chronic health conditions.

“Flu cases start to rise in the fall and, in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, making sure Alaskans are as healthy as possible is more important than ever. That means taking care of our physical and mental health and getting our flu vaccine,” said Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink. “Getting a flu shot is something we can all do to help keep ourselves and others healthy this winter. Don’t wait – vaccinate.”

Our friends at DHSS put together a collection of resources to help promote flu shots to your staff and/or students. We’ve made these resources available in our Alaska Smart Start 2020 toolkit.

Visit DHSS’s Influenza page for more resources.