It’s that time of year again! Time for what you say? Time for Nurse Lori’s annual Flu Vaccine Meme! This year I am channeling my inner Professor McGonagall, that calm and wise mentor to young wizards and witches.
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| Muggle Please! #GetYourFlooShot #NursesWhoVax #VaxWithMe #FluFighter |
We don’t need any fancy spells or incantations to protect ourselves and others from the flu. But we do need to follow some basic guidelines:
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw it in the trash
after you use it and wash your hands.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not
available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs that can cause
respiratory illnesses like flu.
• For flu, CDC recommends that you (or your child) stay home for at least 24 hours after the
fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. The fever should be gone
without the use of a fever-reducing medicine. The stay-at-home guidance for COVID-19 may be
different.
• In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, local governments or public health departments
may recommend additional precautions be taken in your community. Follow those instructions.
• And most importantly, the best potion for protection is your annual Floo Shot!
This year as with the previous three years memes (Wonder Woman, Danaerys Targaryen and
Princess Leia), my goal is to be fun and engaging and use familiar and fun characters to remind
people to do what they can to protect themselves and others from this devastating illness.
This year was more important for me to vaccinate against flu than ever before. CoVid19 has put
added emphasis on the need for flu vaccine this year.
As an adult/geriatric nurse practitioner, I lost more patients than I want to think about to CoVid19. Influenza circulating in the community on top of CoVid19 has the potential to be disastrous. So, ensuring that I, and those I love, and patients I care for are protected against flu is some of the most important healthcare work that I do.
This has become a tradition for me now and I hope to keep it up for at least a few more years,
as long as I have ideas and costumes!
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw it in the trash
after you use it and wash your hands.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not
available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs that can cause
respiratory illnesses like flu.
• For flu, CDC recommends that you (or your child) stay home for at least 24 hours after the
fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. The fever should be gone
without the use of a fever-reducing medicine. The stay-at-home guidance for COVID-19 may be
different.
• In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, local governments or public health departments
may recommend additional precautions be taken in your community. Follow those instructions.
• And most importantly, the best potion for protection is your annual Floo Shot!
This year as with the previous three years memes (Wonder Woman, Danaerys Targaryen and
Princess Leia), my goal is to be fun and engaging and use familiar and fun characters to remind
people to do what they can to protect themselves and others from this devastating illness.
This year was more important for me to vaccinate against flu than ever before. CoVid19 has put
added emphasis on the need for flu vaccine this year.
As an adult/geriatric nurse practitioner, I lost more patients than I want to think about to CoVid19. Influenza circulating in the community on top of CoVid19 has the potential to be disastrous. So, ensuring that I, and those I love, and patients I care for are protected against flu is some of the most important healthcare work that I do.
This has become a tradition for me now and I hope to keep it up for at least a few more years,
as long as I have ideas and costumes!
Do you have a vaccine selfie you want us to share? Email us at NursesWhoVaccinate@gmail.com or tag us on social media! Find us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook!
Lori Boyle, MSN, APN, CWS, WCC
Lori has been in nursing for more than 20 years. While in graduate school, she became aware of how many people were misunderstanding the science of vaccination and falling for misinformation. Since that time she has made it her mission to help people understand that the value and safety of vaccination as recommended, far outweighs the risks. In addition to Nurses Who Vaccinate she is also a member of Voices for Vaccines and the NJ Immunization Network.
