Join Those Who Have Gotten Flu Shots and Red Dots
By Madalene Mandap
Editor at Large
“No shot; no dot.”
You may have noticed red sticker dots appearing on UCSF ID badges. What is this new accoutrement, you wonder? Well, this is a new addition to the annual UCSF flu shot drive, which began in full force this week. The red dot signifies that you have received your flu shot this year, and the lack of it signifies that, well, you have not.
When the 2009 H1N1 flu shot becomes available, there will presumably be another round of color-coded identifying dots to show everyone that you have received that vaccination. If you have already been infected with 2009 H1N1 (which must have been confirmed by rt-PCR testing), then you are exempt from this vaccination requirement.
Those UCSF employees, students and residents who have work responsibilities throughout the medical center, and do not receive their flu shot(s) will soon have to wear masks whenever in areas of patient and coworker contact – lasting the duration of the flu season. This is meant to ensure the protection of both patients and healthcare workers from the spread of seasonal influenza and/or 2009 H1N1 virus.
This has, no doubt, become a point of contention for those who wish to decline the vaccine. Of course, anyone who has true contraindications (including those with an allergy to chicken egg proteins or who have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine before, etc.) should not receive the vaccine. However, many myths about the flu shot still run strong in the public’s mind – one major misconception being that the flu shot causes the flu.
According to the CDC, 25 to 50 million people in the United States become infected with the Influenza virus every year. On average, more than 20,000 of those cases become fatal. This year, with pandemic H1N1 in the mix, the country is in the middle of an impressive large-scale vaccination effort. Visit one of the UCSF Occupational Health Flu Shot Clinics today, get vaccinated and don’t forget your red dot.
For more information and myth-busting facts, go to http://flu.gov.
Thanks to Dr. Heidemarie Windham for her assistance in the preparation of this article.
This article appeared in the October 15, 2009 issue of Synapse.