Experts Optimistic New Flu Vaccine Can Help Businesses Keep Productivity Up While Economy is Down.

Now is the Time to Plan for Employee Flu Vaccination Programs

ATLANTA -- Businesses that want a dose of preventive medicine to maintain healthy productivity levels among workers - and protect profits - during a sick economy should look for healthcare partners now to protect their employees during the upcoming flu season.

Flu experts are hopeful about the effectiveness of this year's flu vaccination, which - with its first reformulation in 20 years - inoculates against three influenza strains the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization anticipate will be prevalent. The reformulation is good news for businesses that bank on healthy workers.

"No business is immune to the flu - a workplace epidemic could wipe out a labor force during its busiest season and devastate a company's bottom line," says Dr. Jeffrey Greiff, founder of Flu Busters, a leading preventive healthcare provider for companies of all sizes. "Many workers won't get a flu shot because of the perceived time and energy it takes. On-site preventive services take immunizations to employees."

Research shows it costs an average of $392 each day an employee is out with flu-related illness, and typically at least 15 percent of employees are out of the office each year due to the flu. Also, the typical flu keeps an employee out of the office for an average of six days.

And while summer may be the season for backyard barbecues and beach trips, it is also the time for businesses to identify experienced vaccination partners that can safeguard workers against illness throughout the flu season, which runs October through March but continues into spring months. Influenza cases were diagnosed through May 17, according to the CDC, for the 2007-2008 flu season.

"Businesses save more than $45 per employee by administering flu shots, and the updated formulation could make the vaccination even more effective among healthy workers," Greiff says. "With flu season rapidly approaching, businesses need to formulate employee-vaccination plans now. This small step can save countless dollars in lost productivity, insurance and other health care costs."

The estimated 25 million to 50 million flu cases reported in the United States annually cost businesses up to 111 million lost workdays and about $7 billion in productivity and associated health care expenditures, according to research. Studies show the flu vaccine historically has been 70 percent to 90 percent effective in healthy adults younger than 65, which can help cut companies' flu-related losses.

A third-party immunization provider, Greiff says, allows employees to be vaccinated at or near their job, instead of waiting in line at a clinic or pharmacy - which is convenient for both workers and employers.

People of any age or health condition can be at risk for catching the flu, a contagious respiratory illness with symptoms that include high fever, muscle aches, headache, extreme tiredness, sore throat, cough and congestion. The flu can easily be spread - especially in the workplace - because an infected person can be contagious five days before symptoms are ever experienced.

For more information about preventive flu services, visit www.flubusters.net or call 1-866-FLU-BUST (1-866-358-2878).

BY THE NUMBERS

Influenza results in an enormous economic loss for society, estimated to be as much as $20 billion annually. But when the influenza vaccine is well matched to circulating strains, flu inoculations have been shown to:

* Reduce physician visits for upper respiratory illness up to 44% among healthy adults

* Reduce employee lost days of illness by 34%

* Decrease use of antibiotics by 28% for flu-associated illnesses, thereby lowering corporate insurance costs

* Save businesses more than $45 per employee

About Flu Busters

Flu Busters, founded in 2002, is a leading third-party provider of preventive healthcare for companies nationwide. Headquartered in Roswell, Ga., Flu Busters specializes in flu vaccinations, health screenings, business travel immunizations and pandemic planning for companies of almost any size. For more information, visit www.FluBusters.net.