Latino Flu Project Fights "El Gripe" According To The Colorado Department Of Public Health And Environment

Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 23 Feb 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The Christmas lights have come down. The New Year's Champaign has been consumed. The Super Bowl has been played. It must be time for the flu season. As the flu virus makes its entrance into our state collaborators on a new Latino flu initiative are hoping that Coloradans, especially Latinos, have protected themselves with flu vaccinations.

The initiative is co-sponsored by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Health Foundation. The effort was initiated after research indicated that as a group Latinos tend to underestimate how devastating getting the flu can be.

A 2007 study found that 58 percent of Latinos, the highest number for any group measured, reported not being concerned about influenza. The study noted this lack of concern mirrored a lack of vaccination.

Conservative estimates are that 30,000 people die from flu in the United States each year. The very young, very old, and persons with medical conditions are most at risk.

Job and school absences are the frequent result of flu. Job absences are hardest on lower paid workers. These workers are often Latinos since over half of Latinos live in families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level.

To increase Latino flu vaccinations, project organizers have worked closely with Spanish-language media and Aurora Public Schools to both get out the message about the importance of flu vaccinations, and to immunize students in two Aurora pilot schools whose student populations are largely Latino.

In addition to news releases on the project, organizers have purchased a heavy rotation of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in Spanish. The PSA currently running features a man sneezing in an elevator while he complains of chills, a classic flu symptom. His fellow elevator riders note they're happy they got their flu vaccination so they don't have to share his fate (as they turn away in an attempt not to share his germs).

The PSA stresses that it is not too late to get an influenza vaccination. While it would have been ideal to get one earlier, if you haven't gotten the flu yet it is a smart move to get a flu vaccination as quickly as possible. Flu often peaks in Colorado in March, so the worst of the flu season is almost surely ahead of us.

Colorado Department of Public Health

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