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September 19, 2006
American Lung Association Launches “Faces of Influenza”
Influenza immunization rates fall far short every year, even though health experts recommend more than 200 million people in the US receive an annual influenza vaccination. To help address this issue, the American Lung Association has launched the Faces of Influenza, a multi-year national public awareness initiative to help Americans put a “face” on this serious disease and recognize annual influenza immunization as an important preventative measure to protect themselves and their families every year.
We all know someone who needs to be vaccinated against the influenza virus this year. In fact, it is likely that you or a family member fall into one of the groups that health officials recommend receive an influenza vaccination. Influenza results in an average of 36,000 deaths and approximately 226,000 hospitalizations in the US each year.1
Celebrities like Jean Smart, Dean Cain and Kristi Yamaguchi; public health officials and everyday people have joined the Faces of Influenza initiative, sharing their personal stories about their experiences with the disease and encouraging influenza vaccination among target groups. These groups include people 50 years of age and older, young children, everyone in close contact with people who have high-risk conditions, health care providers and anyone else who wants to prevent this serious respiratory illness.
Faces of Influenza Awareness Activities
The initiative also includes educational materials and the Lung Association has developed a new Web site, www.facesofinfluenza.org, where consumers and health care providers can find more information about influenza and the importance of immunization. Visitors to the Web site can also view the photographs and stories featured in the Faces of Influenza Portrait Gallery, view the public service campaign and utilize the Lung Association’s Flu Clinic Locator (the largest online directory of public influenza clinics).
Six local Lung Association chapters are planning regional Faces of Influenza awareness activities in Detroit, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Seattle, Houston and Minneapolis/St. Paul to raise awareness about this serious disease and the importance of annual influenza immunization.
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevention and Control of Influenza: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR. 2006; 55(RR-10):1-42.
Posted by lungblogposter at September 19, 2006 10:00 AM
