There are two primary types of flu virus that circulate each year and cause the office epidemics you’ve come to dread—Influenza A and Influenza B. Experts and flu shot creators have come up with a variety of options to help the public avoid both types of the flu.

The two primary umbrellas under which those options fall are trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines. Trivalent flu vaccine protects against three strains of the flu—the two Influenza A strains predicted to circulate most and the one Influenza B strain predicted to circulate most.

Quadrivalent vaccine protects against four strains of the flu—the two Influenza A strains predicted to circulate most and the two Influenza B strains predicted to circulate most. Essentially quadrivalent flu shots offer the same coverage as trivalent plus coverage against one more strain of Influenza B. Obviously that’s a bit wider coverage, and therefore a bit better protection.

How early is too early to start your corporate conversation about flu shots? Well, it depends who you’re talking to. Honestly, there are people who talk about flu shots all year long.

Your role as the flu shot coordinator where you work is to figure out when it’s your turn to jump in on their conversations. You know you need to protect your workforce in the fall, but how early should your planning start.

It seems there are more flu shot options now than there have ever been before. That makes sense because of the scientific advances we continue to make every year. We know more about the flu virus than we ever have before.

The variety of flu shot options is also a product of the flu vaccine market and the society that market serves. The market is currently shifting towards the new, scientifically-supported flu shot options. They haven’t necessarily let go of older, more traditional options yet because they still work. And they’re still valuable!

Hygiene is important all year long, but it’s especially important during flu season. That’s because the flu can spread from person to person by germs left behind on shared objects. That’s why when someone comes to work sick, it won’t be long until you have an office epidemic on your hands.

Some places are more common hotspots for germs than other places. In your office, that includes anything that is shared or touched frequently. This means things like:

• Sink faucet handles
• Microwave door handles
• Fridge door handles
• Any other door handles
• Light switches
• Desk equipment like keyboards and phones
• Coffee pot handles
• Table tops
• Elevator or vending machine buttons

Did you know that 5-20% of people get sick with the flu every single year?

Did you know that your business could take a huge hit because of the widespread nature of flu season?

It’s true. Flu season can severely impact your business. It can lead to losses in productivity, sick employees, and employees distracted by sick children.

The CDC and a variety of scientific research suggest that getting the flu shot and striving towards herd immunity is the best way to stay healthy during flu season. But a majority of people still aren’t being vaccinated.

So what can your business do?

Preparing your office for flu season is essential in maintaining a healthy workforce throughout the fall. It’s estimated that 5-20% of the population gets the flu every year, leading to 111 million workdays lost to influenza.

Take a stand and take back your office productivity this fall by being proactive about flu protection. Check out our webinar recording to learn ten actionable tips that can help you get started.

Flu season is just around the corner. Whether you’ve gotten your flu shot clinic scheduled or not, it’s still important to plan ahead and try to host the most successful clinic possible.

And that’s where we come in.

We’ve put together a simple guide to help you truly get the most out of your flu shot clinic this fall. You can download the free guide for the latest tips and tricks for hosting a corporate flu clinic.

Corporate flu shots are one of the best ways to protect your office from a flu epidemic. Even though we are still a ways out from flu season, it’s important to start thinking about your corporate flu shots early. The vaccine market is shifting, so planning early helps you be sure you’ll get the exact number and type of flu shots you want.

As you start to dive in to planning your flu clinic, keep these common questions in mind.

We recently hosted a webinar about the corporate flu shot landscape, and how it will be changing in coming years. If you weren’t able to make it to the webinar, that’s okay! All you need to do is:

• Check out this blog recap
• Watch the webinar recording
• Let us know if you have any questions
• And, keep your eye on our content for future webinar opportunities

Are we there yet? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we are just about to the end of the 2014-15 flu season!

We all know that this flu season was an interesting one. With the circulating strains a bit different from that in the virus, we saw a pretty active flu season. Check out the major takeaways from this past flu season.