The Alabama Department of Public Health and three major health care organizations have launched a public awareness effort to combat the flu.

The Alabama Hospital Association, Alabama Medical Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama have partnered with ADPH to encourage people to get a flu shot with the No Time for Flu campaign.

For information, visit the campaign’s webpage at www.alabamapublichealth.gov/flu/campaign.html.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone six months and older get a flu vaccination as early as possible, preferably in October. The vaccine helps reduce the risk of flu and associated hospitalizations and deaths, according to ADPH.

Flu facts as provided by the CDC:

• One person with the flu can infect others one day before any symptoms develop, and up to seven days after a person becomes sick.
• The virus can spread up to six feet away, mainly when people cough, sneeze or talk.
• The flu causes employees to miss approximately 17 million workdays at an estimated $7 billion a year in sick days and lost productivity.
• The latest information available from the CDC regarding the effectiveness of the flu is from 2019-2020 when the vaccine was estimated to have prevented approximately 6,300 deaths.

The statewide organizations also advise that simple hygiene efforts, such as washing hands, covering mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, as well as staying home when sick can also help protect against the flu.

Along with visiting the No Time for Flu campaign’s webpage, people should speak with their physicians.

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL