Raising Awareness of Flu Prevention Efforts with Fluvention®

Innovations & Initiatives, Health & Wellness

12/17/2020

nurse talking to masked elderly woman on couch

In a year marked by the novel coronavirus and the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic, many health professionals took extra precautions to decrease the spread of influenza (commonly called the flu). Due to increased prevention efforts, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has noted historically low inter-seasonal flu levels this year.

Centene’s Fluvention® program has helped raise awareness of flu prevention efforts among high-risk groups for more than a decade. The multi-layered campaign promotes vaccinations as the key to flu prevention. Centene utilizes enterprise-wide member and provider education as well as increasing access to facilities that provide flu vaccinations.

Fluvention’s goal is to decrease the flu spread by increasing the number of Centene’s members that receive a timely annual flu vaccination while providing additional protection for members at high risk of developing COVID-19 comorbidities.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, getting a flu shot is increasingly important. While the flu shot won’t protect against COVID-19, it lowers the chances of getting seriously ill at a time when critical healthcare resources are needed for COVID-19 patients. There is also evidence to support the use of face masks to reduce the transmission of viral respiratory illnesses.

This year, increased social media outreach efforts, including video resources, focused on four content areas:

  • Importance of getting an annual flu shot.
  • Groups at high risk of complications from the flu.
  • Recognizing flu symptoms.
  • Getting your flu shot: it’s not too late (to be posted late in flu season).

Learn more about Fluvention campaigns from previous years and Centene’s distribution of information on ways to stay healthy on our COVID-19 Resource Center. For more information about the 2020-2021 flu season, visit the CDC’s weekly surveillance report.