For Jude, For Everyone is proud to introduce Flu Prevention Week. Join us as we work to help people take action to protect themselves and everyone around them from influenza. Flu prevention isn’t a personal choice, but a public one. We’re all in this together, and together we can make changes that will protect our communities. Whose life could you save?
When we talk about the flu we often think of a bad cold or a stomach bug, but the reality is more serious. The flu (more formally known as influenza) is a respiratory illness that can make you very sick for several days or weeks, and for many people can cause more extreme effects. Every year in Canada ~3500 people die from the flu, and another ~12,000 are hospitalized. In the US ~36,000 die during an average flu season, while 2017-18 saw that number climb to ~80,000. When we’re talking about numbers that big it can be hard to wrap our heads around the size of the problem. 3500 is almost twice as many people as we lose to car accidents each year in Canada. It’s roughly the population of Bobcaygeon or Southampton, ON, or Raymond, AB. 12,000 is about the size of Prince Rupert, BC. 80,000? That’s Peterborough, ON.
That’s a lot of people, and a problem that big can become overwhelming, making it easier to look past those numbers. But while the flu is a big problem that we can’t fix on our own every flu season, there are actions that we can all take as individuals to protect ourselves and everyone we come in contact with. We have the ability to take steps that can save lives in our own communities every flu season, and that’s powerful. What if we all do that? What if we all make choices that will reduce the risk for vulnerable people and prevent the spread of the flu?
During Flu Prevention Week we’re working to raise awareness and understanding at the start of the season to help stop the flu before it reaches people in the first place. Everyone who gets the flu gets it from someone else. What if the person who had it before you had avoided it? What if you can take a step to avoid giving it to someone who might not survive? For Jude, For Everyone began in October, 2016, following the May 6, 2016 death of two-year-old Jude McGee. Many people had influenza B before it reached Jude in late spring. What if one of those people had taken extra steps to protect themselves or the people around them? What if just one of those people had broken the chain, and stopped the flu from passing on? You can be that person. You can break the chain. You can stop the flu from reaching vulnerable people like Jude, and thousands of other Canadians who might not otherwise survive this flu season.
Check out our Flu Prevention Week page and help us save lives this year. Learn more about what the flu is and what it isn’t, how to prevent catching it or prevent spreading it if you might have it, tips to make vaccinations easier for kids and babies, and how you can help us spread the word and protect more people this year and every year. The flu is preventable when we all do our part. Together, we can protect more people from losing their lives and loved ones.
Whose life could you save? Join Us. For Jude, For Everyone.
