Influenza Preparedness Checklist

Overview

Every year, seasonal influenza affects millions of businesses. In fact, 5% to 20% of the U.S. population gets the flu every year, resulting in 31.4 million outpatient visits. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during the severe 2017-2018 flu season, one of the longest in recent years, estimates indicate that more than 900,000 people were hospitalized and more than 80,000 people died from flu. Influenza has a substantial economic impact on society, resulting primarily from lost work time, reduced workforce, reduced productivity of patients and caregivers, and increased use of medical resources.

Should pandemic influenza happen, businesses will play a pivotal role in protecting employees’ health and safety and restricting the negative impact on the economy and society. Planning for pandemic influenza is critical. Our team at Agility has developed the following checklist for businesses to assist you in these protective efforts. It identifies essential and detailed activities organizations can do now to prepare, many of which will also help you in other emergencies. Further information can be found at www.pandemicflu.gov and www.cdc.gov/business.