NPHIC News - February 2014 - Vol. 25, No. 1 Page 8

`Tis the season to get a flu shot - to which too many people
reply with "Bah, humbug!" That's especially true in Indiana
which is ranked the 13th worst state in the nation for influenza
vaccinations, with only 40 percent of Hoosiers being vaccinated,
according to the CDC.

For Hoosier health practitioners hoping for the spread of holiday
cheer and not seasonal influenza, getting people to understand
that the vaccine is safe and still the best protection against the flu
virus was an enormous challenge. And a great opportunity.

Public health officials across the state seized that opportunity with
some clever approaches to their vaccination efforts at the start of
the 2013-14 flu season.

Colts' `Blue' Sparks Indiana Flu-shot Campaign

By John Silcox

Knowing that sometimes the best defense is a good offense,
the Indiana State Department of Health teamed up with the
Indianapolis Colts to promote flu vaccination during the football
season with their campaign "Join Blue, Prevent the Flu!" Blue, the
Colts' mascot, and state health officials encouraged Hoosiers to get
vaccinated and to practice the "three Cs" to help stop the spread of
the flu and other respiratory diseases such as whooping cough:

Clean

Wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water.

Cover

Cover your cough or sneeze with your sleeve or a

disposable tissue.

Contain

Stay home from school and work when you are

sick to keep from spreading germs.

As part of the campaign, Hoosiers were encouraged to tweet
photos of themselves washing their hands to #COLTSCLEAN. The
campaign received 48 pictures of people washing their hands.
Winning pictures were selected at random and featured in the
program for the Colts' final regular season home game.

The final game day program with the winning pictures can be
viewed

here

. To see the 15-second video that played at Lucas Oil

Stadium, click this

link

continued on page 9

"Blue" receives his flu shot from Indiana State Health Commissioner
William VanNess, M.D.