Adventist HealthCare launched its third annual Help Stop the Flu campaign on Thursday with a flu roundtable at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG). 

"At Adventist HealthCare, we're really big believers in prevention and community wellness and we think the best way to avoid getting sick from the flu is to prevent it," said Dr. Gaurov Dayal, a pediatricin who also serves as the Chief Medical Officer at Adventist HealthCare.  "So we are making this big push to educate the public."

The experts who participated in the roundtable presentation, which was attended by dozens of USG students and staff, all agreed that the best defense against the flu is getting a flu vaccination.  This year's vaccine contains strains of both seasonal influenza and the H1N1 virus. 

This means that, unlike last year's flu season when two separate vaccines were necessary, one vaccine will now protect against both the seasonal flu and H1N1 or "swine flu", which many health care professionals feared would cause an influenza pandemic last winter.

"People may have a false sense of security because there isn't as much frenzy about the flu this year," said Dr. Juanita Lynn Smith, a hospitalist at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital.  "Last year we did such a good job of getting people vaccinated that we kept down the spread of the virus.  But it's still around and the best thing that you can do is decrease your risk by getting a flu shot."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than 25 million cases of influenza are reported in the United States each year, leading to 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths annually. 

Up to 111 million adult workdays - costing $7 billion - are lost every year to influenza in sick days and lost productivity, according to the Adventist HealthCare website. 

Despite the prevalence of the flu in the United States every fall and winter, experts say that some people are still hesitant about being vaccinated because of misconceptions about the safety of the vaccine.

"The communication about the side effects of the vaccine isn't as clear as it could be, which may lead people to believe that the vaccines are not as safe as they actually are," said Dr. Philip Krause, a representative from the Office of Vaccines at the Food and Drug Administration. 

One of the primary goals of the Help Stop the Flu campaign is to dispel the notion that the flu vaccine can make people sick, Dr. Dayal said.

"Since the flu virus is dead in the vaccine, it is impossible to get the flu from the flu shot – you can get short-term symptoms that are similar to the flu, but you cannot get the flu," Dr. Dayal said.  "Even though the flu shot is not a guarantee that you will not get the flu, it's the best insurance we have to prevent the flu."

In addition to getting vaccinated, the health care professionals at the roundtable presentation recommended that individuals take simple precautions against contracting and spreading influenza. 

Frequent hand washing – with a deliberate rubbing motion that lasts at least 20 seconds – and staying home when experiencing flu symptoms can significantly minimize the spread of the virus in schools, work places and public areas, they said.

"It's not just about you, it's also about the people you come into contact with," said Cindy Edwards, manager of the Disease Control Team at the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.  "You need to think of the greater good and protecting the people you are around as well."

Adventist HealthCare's Help Stop the Flu campaign will continue with several flu shot clinics that will take place throughout Montgomery County and Washington, D.C. in October.