Clearly, the 2009/2010 flu season was an unusual one.  The sudden appearance of H1N1, the lack of a vaccine, the decision to manufacture a vaccine and then its’ delayed arrival, all lead to a flu vaccination season like no other.  What’s on the horizon for the 2010/2011 flu vaccination season?  It may be early to say but we know the following:

1.  H1N1 is one of the three strains to be included in the seasonal flu vaccine.

2.  Vaccine prices have gone up.

3.  Nursing costs have also increased.

The WHO delivered the strains to the manufacturers on time but it is too soon to know how well the strains are growing.  We’ll get early reports from the manufacturers in about two weeks at the CDC/ AMA National Flu Vaccination Summit.

Last year, we saw the highest uptake of seasonal flu vaccine in history with nearly 40% of the US population getting their seasonal flu shots.  Let’s see if we can’t build on that this year.

Flu continues to receive a great deal of media coverage and sometimes it is hard to figure out why the media covers one story and glosses over others. Here are what we think were the most important flu stories of this past week and our comments on them:

1. A small study from Mexico showed that individuals who received seasonal flu shots and contracted H1N1 flu had a significantly lower mortality rate. In fact, none of the critically ill patients in the study who had received a seasonal flu shot died while 34% of those critically ill patients who had not received a seasonal flu shot did. We will have more and better US data, hopefully validating this study , within the next week or two.

This study’s findings were directly opposite from the findings from a small Canadian study several weeks ago.

2. The shortage of seasonal flu vaccine is widespread. Unlike other flu shot seasons, it will not resolve itself over time.

In past flu seasons when there were vaccine delays or shortages, the manufacturers would continue to make vaccine as long as necessary. This year, they have converted their production lines over to H1N1 production lines and are no longer manufacturing seasonal flu vaccine. There are always vaccine “losses” when vials are filled after their lots are approved by the FDA. This year, those fill losses are three times normal which adds to the shortage (that one has received nearly no media coverage).

As a result, most retail flu clinics (like those in Costcos and CVS pharmacies) will be ending weeks ahead of schedule as they run out of vaccine.

3. There appears to be a renewed shortage of hand sanitizer. Don’t wait until you are out before re-ordering because there are back orders.

4. Flu activity is now present in all 50 states with high activity reported in 37 states.

5. Flu “burnout” is our newest concern. Dr. Anne Schuchat from the CDC reports that we will likely see flu activity levels similar to this week’s for the next seven months (until the end of traditional flu season). Remaining vigilant for that long of a period of time will be challenging for most businesses. As we hear how different clients and employers are creatively addressing ways to prevent flu burnout, we’ll pass them along.

For years now, the CDC tracks the spread of influenza each year beginning in early October.  They receive reports from emergency rooms, hospitals and doctors nationally and publish that data on their website – generally about two weeks after the fact.

But here comes Google with Google Flu Trends and a totally new way to find out what is happening out there in real time.  Who is sick enough today to be googling flu remedies?  Who is wondering how long their ailing spouse is going to be home?

http://www.google.org/flutrends/

Google Flutrends tracks computer users web searches for words related to flu – influenza, flu, fever, flu remedies, etc.  And it appears that Google is accurately trending the spread of flu two weeks ahead of the CDC.  All we can say is Wow!

Of course, there are already naysayers.  Google insists it is tracking and using anonymous aggregated data to conduct its trending analysis.  The folks at EPIC , the Electronic Privacy Information Center,  filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking federal officials to disclose how much user search data the company has recently transmitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, as part of Google Flu Trends.

But the implications for predicting a flu pandemic and being able to take precautionary action at an earlier point are signficant.  And its potential tracking other infectious diseases and other types of illness is incredibly exciting.

Google does it again…

Around this time of year every year, we start to get calls from our corporate clients asking us what to expect this flu shot season.  And nearly every year, we have different answers from the previous year.

The good news….

There are more manufacturers and much more vaccine being produced this year than in previous years.  Upwards of 150 million doses should be available between August 1st and November 30th. The price of flu vaccine is up too, although much less than in other flu seasons.  We’ve seen increases averaging 10% in past years. This year, prices are up only slightly (although nursing and shipping costs are up). More… Advances in flu vaccine manufacturing, moving away from egg-based manufacturing to newer cell technologies are moving forward.  Flu vaccine is still generally reliant upon the availability of sterile eggs (used as the medium in which the strains are grown).  The newer cell technologies don’t require eggs, are much more targeted in strain selection and eliminate the allergy concerns for those allergic to eggs. (more…)

This week, SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, released the findings from it January 2008 poll of members regarding employee flu shots.  And overall, their news was good.   They found that: 

• 59 percent of employers offered free flu shots to employees – up 5% from last year
• 52 percent of employers made hand sanitizers, tissues and other items that help prevent the spread of flu available to employees – up from only 2% the previous year. 
• Most importantly, a full one third of employers sent sick employee home vs. only 20% in 2007.
  

That’s progress!

 The CDC – AMA National Flu Summit meets the second week in May in Atlanta.  The medical professionals attending are very concerned that this past year’s flu season, with a less effective vaccine than past years, will discourage employers from offering flu shots this year and employees from taking flu shots. 

You’ve already heard that this is a nasty flu season. What makes this flu season so nasty – particularly for employers? Is there anything you can do about it now? Several employers a day are calling to talk about:

• widespread employee absences
• a cacophony of sneezing and coughing
• delayed projects and lower productivity

 Why?

We’ve reached the peak of flu season and it is a nasty one. This flu season is as nasty as it is in part because it arrived slightly later than usual which always makes it worse. Then, we found that there is a poor match between the vaccine and the main strain of flu that is circulating.  Is there anything an employer can do at this point? Yes! It may be too late for flu shots to be cost effective but: (more…)

Welcome to the Corporate Wellness Blog.  I’ll be blogging about employee health and wellness issues; our experiences and those of our clients (don’t’ worry – we won’t be naming names). Shortly, we’ll be celebrating Corporate Wellness, Inc. twentieth year.  An observation we made during the first week holds true a thousand weeks later – no two days are alike; no two employee health situations are identical and no client crises are ever exactly the same.  The body of knowledge and experience we’ve built over the years provides us with a unique perspective on healthcare, employee benefits, drug screening, DOT Medical Certificates and other employee health and employment issues that we’ll be sharing here.  We have no doubt that over drinks with your co-workers or dinner with your family, you’ll be sharing one of the stories you read here.