When it comes to getting a flu shot, some patients need convincing.
The general statement, “It will help you stay healthy,” won’t persuade all patients. Some patients need specifics, such as how much less likely they are to be hospitalized if they get the flu shot.
Encourage reluctant patients that a flu shot is good for their health with concrete numbers. When you know statistics about the flu shot, your patients might be more easily persuaded.
In preparation for the 2015-16 flu season, here are 16 numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) you should know—and use—to promote the importance of getting a flu shot to your patients.
20
The 2014-15 flu season lasted approximately 20 weeks, which was slightly longer than the average season.
13
For the past 13 seasons, influenza-like illnesses have been reported to be at or above the seasonal baseline for 13 weeks on average.
60 percent
While patients 65 years and older almost always have the highest flu-related hospitalization rate, the group accounted for more than 60 percent of all reported flu-related hospitalizations during the 2014-15 season, making this the highest hospitalization rate for the group since the CDC began tracking this metric in 2005.
128
During the 2014-15 flu season, 128 pediatric deaths from influenza-like illnesses were reported. This is a decrease compared to the peak, which occurred in 2009 during a flu pandemic when pediatric flu deaths reached 358.
45 percent
Vaccine effectiveness against influenza B viruses, which were mostly well matched, reached 45 percent in the 2014-15 flu season.
19 percent
The overall vaccine effectiveness during the 2014-15 flu season reached 19 percent, meaning that a person’s risk of having to seek medical care at a doctor’s office for flu-related illness decreased by 19 percent if they got vaccinated.
3,000 to 49,000
According to CDC research from 1976 to 2006, seasonal flu-associated deaths in the U.S. range from a low of about 3,000 people per year to a high of about 49,000 people.
171 million
At least 171 million doses of flu vaccine have been produced for the 2015-16 flu season.
74 percent
Flu vaccinations reduced a child’s risk of being admitted into a pediatric intensive care unit due to a flu-related illness by 74 percent during the 2010-12 flu seasons.
71 percent
Flu vaccinations reduced the risk of flu-related hospitalizations among adults of all ages by 71 percent, and reduced the rates among patients 50 years of age and older by 77 percent during the 2011-12 flu season.
1/2
Flu vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalizations among people with lung disease by more than half, 52 percent. And, flu vaccines reduce the risk in patients with diabetes by 79 percent.
2
It takes two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection.
92 percent
Pregnant women can reduce their chance of being hospitalized for flu by 92 percent if they get vaccinated. And, if pregnant women get vaccinated, the same rate of protection applies to their children up to six months after birth.
48
If patients get sick with the flu, antiviral treatment works best within the first 48 hours. Three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved influenza antiviral drugs are recommended for use in the U.S. for the 2015-16 flu season, including oseltamivir, zanamivir and peramivir.
142
The World Health Organization’s Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) monitors changes in influenza viruses at 142 national influenza centers in 112 countries around the world.
113 million
As of Oct. 26, 2015, 113 million doses of 2015-16 flu vaccines have been distributed in the U.S.
Help convince your patients of the importance of getting a flu shot by sharing these compelling numbers with them.
