NACDS Launches Vaccine Campaign as Flu Season Looms

NACDS is launching a nationwide awareness campaign on the importance of getting the flu vaccine this fall, particularly to avoid an overrun of the health care system due to the dual threat of flu and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).¹

More Americans are expected to get the flu vaccine this fall, and pharmacies are ready to administer them. In fact, prescription savings service SingleCare reported a nearly 14,000% increase in demand for Fluzone Quadrivalent for the weeks of July 27 through August 9, compared with the same weeks last year, according flu vaccine data.²

However, NACDS’ recent poll conducted by Morning Consult showed that two-thirds of adults (67%) said receiving a flu vaccination is important to protecting health right now. The number was less than those indicating the importance of wearing a mask (86%), washing hands (93%), physical distancing (89%), and staying home when sick (93%).³

“Adding to the challenge of defeating COVID-19 is a flu season that is rapidly approaching and presenting the possibility of a two-front public health war,” said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson in a news release.¹ “We need to call on Americans to do what they can right now to protect themselves and to protect their loved ones, and getting their flu vaccinations is a vital part of that.”

NACDS’s campaign includes English and Spanish video ads and national satellite media tours. The organization’s online toolkit also makes it easy for patient groups, allied healthcare associations, businesses, government, and others to sign up as partners and to use the ads, polling data, social media resources, and other items, NACDS said.¹

“All healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, have an important role to play in encouraging everyone age 6 months and older to get vaccinated each year against flu,” added Marla Dalton, CAE, executive director and CEO of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.¹

NACDS will announce additional aspects of its flu vaccination awareness campaign in the coming days.

References

1. NACDS urges flu vaccinations as two-front public health war looms with COVID-19. News release. NACDS; September 2, 2020. Accessed September 2, 2020. https://www.nacds.org/news/nacds-urges-flu-vaccinations-as-two-front-public-health-war-looms-with-covid-19/

2. Report: SingleCare data shows early surge in flu vaccine demand. SingleCare; August 13, 2020. Accessed September 2, 2020. https://www.singlecare.com/blog/flu-shot-2020/

3. NACDS. Poll Results: Flu Vaccination. 2020. Accessed September 2, 2020. https://www.nacds.org/pdfs/comm/2020/NACDS-FluPoll2020.pdf.