This year is notably more important than ever to get your flu shot. Each year, hospitals and doctors’ offices treat thousands of patients with the flu. Our healthcare system and the healthcare heroes on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic are relying on all of us to do our part in limiting the spread of the flu just as we are working to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Recently the UW Medicine newsroom sat down with Dr. John Lynch, medical director of infection control and prevention at Harborview Medical Center, to discuss why getting the flu vaccine is so important. Dr. Lynch highlights that getting the flu shot this year will help hospitals save room for COVID-19 patients, if cases rise as expected, and that your flu shot could prevent you from fighting both respiratory viruses.

Ready to get your flu shot? The Whole U is hosting various flu shot clinics across the University of Washington to help UW employees and students protect themselves and our greater community from the flu this year.

Learn more and sign up for yours today.

With help from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention we’re diving into what you need to know about the flu, the 2020 flu season, and why it’s all of our responsibility to get vaccinated.

What is the flu and when is flu season?

The CDC explains that flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It infects primarily the nose, throat, and sometimes lungs. The flu causes a wide range of mild to severe illnesses and can lead to death when severe.

Flu season is in the fall and winter in the United States, typically peaking between December and February. Flu season can last until May and flu viruses circulate year-round. The best time to get your flu shot is before the end of October. Learn more here.

How does flu spread and how can I protect from it?

The CDC has found that flu typically spreads person to person, mainly by droplets made when someone who has the flu coughs, sneezes, or talks. Flu virus can also be spread through high touch surfaces.

The first and most important step to protecting against flu viruses is to get a flu vaccine each year. Be sure to wash your hands often with soap, stay home if you are feeling sick, wear a mask to protect yourself and others, cover your cough, and avoid those who are sick (CDC).

The CDC offers many additional recommendations for home, school, and work to prevent the spread of flu. Click here to learn more.

How does the flu vaccine work?

Each year the CDC works hard to determine which strains of the flu are expected to circulate. From these viruses, the flu vaccine (shot) is created. When you get your flu shot, your body develops flu antibodies about two weeks later that protect you from the flu strains that were used to create the vaccine (CDC). Learn more about this year’s flu vaccine.

Where can I get my vaccine?

The Whole U is hosting various flu shot clinics across the University of Washington to help UW employees and students protect themselves and our greater community from the flu this year. Learn more and sign up for yours today.

Additionally, you can get a flu shot at many local pharmacies and your doctor’s office. Even though we are all doing our best to stay home and socially distance, it is still extremely important that you schedule your flu shot as you are able. 

What are the benefits of the flu vaccine?

Flu vaccination has been shown to have many benefits including reducing the risk of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and the risk of flu-related death in children (CDC). Getting your flu shot also helps protect those in our communities who cannot get their flu shot for various reasons such as pregnant women and those who are immunocompromised.

What are flu symptoms?

The CDC states that the flu is different from a cold in that it usually comes on suddenly and presents with all or some of the following symptoms:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue (tiredness)
• Vomiting and diarrhea (more common in children than adults)

To protect yourself, your loved ones, and the vulnerable members of our communities, be sure to get vaccinated for the flu this year and every year! It’s a simple task that can make a huge difference. Stay well and be sure to take care of yourself if you develop any symptoms of the flu.

The CDC has a plethora of information about the flu. Learn more and explore the many resources offered.

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020, August 31). Prevent Seasonal Flu. Retrieved September, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/index.html.

UW Medicine newsroom. (2020, August 20). Importance of vaccines during COVID-19 pandemic. Retrieved September, 2020, from https://newsroom.uw.edu/resource/importance-vaccines-during-covid-19-pandemic.

POD

Go, grow! This autumn, POD is offering<https://ucs.admin.uw.edu/pod/> dozens of live virtual workshops and self-paced online sessions to help you advance your development goals, gain new tools and explore different perspectives.

Whether you’re seeking to deepen your own understanding, disrupt bias or transform your workplace, POD has a class for you. Virtual offerings include Race, Bias and Dissonance<http://discover.uw.edu/GnQ0OB00BR0lA0yx0030L8I>, Creating an Inclusive Workplace Through Emotional Intelligence<http://discover.uw.edu/s0YD0xn0BQ8w0A3I0L00y0O>, Cultural Proficiency<http://discover.uw.edu/E3y0A0LSQmB080IO0B00x0n> and more.

Flu Shots

Prioritize your health – get your flu shot<https://thewholeu.uw.edu/2020/09/04/flu-shot-clinics-2020/>. Whether it’s at your doctor’s office, pharmacy or a special flu clinic at the UW, it’s more important than ever to get your flu vaccine this year.

Supporting working families

Juggling work and caregiving responsibilities is extraordinarily stressful this fall. Find support through Work-Life resources and other community programs on the Supporting our UW working families<https://hr.uw.edu/coronavirus/2020/09/03/supporting-our-uw-working-families/> webpage.

Get your kids moving during their lunch breaks with UW Athletics and The Whole U. Recess breaks are for kids ages 6—12 and parents are welcome to join these fun 15-minute movement breaks hosted by student athletes and coaches. Register for UW Recess,<https://wholeu.admin.washington.edu/uwnetid/twuext/EventDetail.aspx?regid=&eventid=1139&eventsessionid=> offered at noon on Mondays and Wednesday this fall.

The Whole U

Join The Whole U’s UW Yoga Month 2020<https://wholeu.admin.washington.edu/uwnetid/twuext/EventDetail.aspx?regid=&eventid=1140&eventsessionid=> and give yourself a much-needed focal point for self-care during this time.

UW CareLink

UW CareLink are offering free workshop that new ways to balance the needs or work and family, stay organized and adapt. Check out the fall schedule on the new CareLink webinars page<https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/uw-carelink/webinar-coping-with-uncertainty-coronavirus-covid-19/>.

SafeCampus/Title IX

Help the UW develop violence-prevention training for new employees. The UW Title IX Training & Education Working Committee is developing new employee training to help prevent and respond to sexual misconduct for all members of the UW community. Complete a five-minute survey to offer your feedback and priorities.  <https://qfreeaccountssjc1.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4ZvPl8K4H9Oqk2V>

Dear PSO parents,

The UW Caregiver task force, which is currently in session,  wished to notify our members that the the UW Human Resources department has updated their web page outlining various resources for parents.

This update is as of Wednesday 8/26/2020

https://hr.uw.edu/coronavirus/caring-for-self-and-family/child-care/child-care-options-and-resources/

July 1, 2020

Dear President Cauce and members of the UW Board of Regents:

On June 11th, 2020, as part of the budgeting response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Washington leadership canceled the FY 2020 merit increases for professional staff, unrepresented academic staff, and faculty. The PSO Board is deeply concerned by this decision, which was made without consulting professional staff and leaves employees to grapple with ever increasing costs of living in the region in a time of deep economic hardship. The continual compression of professional staff salaries as compared to cost of living exacerbates existing structural inequities, widening the pay gaps between people of color and women, who are overrepresented professional staff at lower grades as compared to the managerial positions dominated by white and male employees (per UW DEI Data Book, 2018). With the backdrops of this pandemic with disproportionate health and economic impacts on low-wage and employees of color, and a national reckoning with centuries of structural racism, we write to you today to consider the impacts of this wage freeze in light of the UW’s stated commitment to “working to change exclusionary or biased policies and institutional practices that lead to and maintain racial and other forms of inequity and deny people opportunities” (UW Race and Equity Initiative).  In alignment with these stated values and decisions of the State of Washington, we urge UW leadership to reverse this decision for those making under $55,000 per year. We recognize that Governor Inslee’s threshold for this decision is $53,000; due to the much higher cost of living in the communities where most UW employees live, we feel that $55,000 is, at the least, appropriate.

The UW PSO stands in solidarity with the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Anti-Racist Staff Healing Group at UW in this urgent call: no professional staff member should be expected to forgo the already inadequate 2% merit increase. In this moment, those making the least should be protected from such cuts. Knowing what we do about the systemic inequities in our employment and pay structures, we ask the UW Administration and Board of Regents to operationalize the UW Race & Equity Initiative, and to use this as an opportunity to begin dismantling inequitable economic policies and practices by compensating those professional staff employees who are most burdened by the impacts of those structures. 

Signed,

The UW Professional Staff Organization Board

BIPOC & Allies Staff Healing Group ask that in alignment with the State of Washington’s wage freeze, the UW reverses the decision to freeze wages for faculty and Pro-Staff making under $55,000 per year.
Review the petition and sign here: https://forms.gle/Azj9LqKUybuS98oT6

Visit the UW Diversity and Inclusion Seed Grant webpage for information on how to apply.

Details of the 2020-2021 budget:
https://www.washington.edu/news/2020/06/11/uw-regents-approve-2020-21-budget-as-university-faces-financial-challenges-from-covid-19/

The Race & Equity Initiative has created a list for all who would like to gain a deeper understanding of historical and present-day manifestations of racism in the United States. This list of guides and resources is a wonderful sample of the abundance of resources available online. In the coming days and weeks, more will be added. Stay tuned and check back often.

https://www.washington.edu/raceequity/2020/06/10/race-and-equity-resources/

The University of Washington Professional Staff Organization stands with and supports our Black community members and works in solidarity to end racism and oppression at the UW and beyond. We are grateful for and endorse the message below from Vice President Rickey Hall, Acting Dean Wayne Ay, and Assistant Chancelor James McShay. We also encourage all professional staff to consider and engage in the conversations that are currently taking place about how to disrupt racism and end police violence. Some opportunities our community has shared include protecting UW communities from police violence; and to reallocate graduation requirements toward diversity courses.

View the web version of this message

We want to invite you to participate in the 3rd Annual Environmental Justice Conference:

WHEN: May 19, 2020 | 1:00 – 5:00pm

WHERE: Virtual Event (an email with the login information will be sent to those who RSVP a day before the event)

Climate change poses one of the greatest threats to humanity and it is happening right now. Unfortunately, not all of us are impacted in the same way. Communities of color and underprivileged groups are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to structural inequities.

The 3rd Annual Environmental Justice Conference entails to bring awareness on environmental and climate justice initiatives, as well as to create a space for dialogue across scales, affiliations, and worldviews. Through presentations and interactive sessions, participants will be able to explore approaches to inclusive and meaningful engagement through innovation and collaboration. The main objective of this conference is to reflect on best practices around equitable partnerships within the context of environmental/climate justice.

RSVP at: https://environment.uw.edu/deievents/

For more information visit: https://environment.uw.edu/envjustice2020