Dear Colleagues,
The flu season is upon us again and today marks the beginning of UHN's annual four-week Flu Campaign. It's up to each of us to protect our coworkers, patients and loved ones from the Influenza virus by getting the flu vaccine.
Influenza continues to be the infectious disease with the highest mortality rate in North America so I urge you to get your shot again this year. Toronto Public Health reported influenza outbreaks in some long-term and acute care facilities as early as September.
Both mobile and stationary flu carts will be available across UHN to make it as easy as possible for you to get your shot. Vaccination rates comparing each site will be posted publicly and on the intranet on a weekly basis. At the end of the campaign, as always, the site with the highest rate will win the coveted Flu Campaign Trophy – which currently resides at TWH.
Visit the Occupational Health page of the intranet to see how your site stacks up against your colleagues and to get the most up-to-date flu cart schedule (http://intranet.uhn.ca/departments/occ_health/index.asp).
For those who have questions, Susy Hota has answered FAQs about influenza and its vaccine that I think offers some great insights. This is available on the UHNews page of the intranet.
So, Toronto Western, dust off that trophy. Toronto Rehab, Princess Margaret and Toronto General, make some room in your trophy cases as one site will be bringing home the trophy for the next year.
Best of luck to all four sites. While only one of you will bring home the gold, more importantly you will all be playing a role in preventing those near you from getting the flu.
Bob
