The Campaign Will Include Seven Vaccines Events
LOS ANGELES – California is suffering its worst summer COVID-19 wave in years with more than 14 percent of tests showing positive earlier this month. This is happening just as flu season is approaching. L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, serving nearly 2.6 million people in Los Angeles County, wants to help prevent a public health crisis this fall. The health plan is launching its 13th annual Fight the Flu Campaign and adding COVID-19 to the wide-ranging effort to spread the word about both lifesaving vaccines.
“It’s hard to overstate the importance of flu and COVID-19 vaccines as we head into the fall and winter months. They are the best protection against serious outcomes or death,” said Sameer Amin, MD, L.A. Care Chief Medical Officer. “Last year, the CDC reported more than 75,500 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. and almost 45,000 people were estimated to have died from flu complications.”
The Fight the Flu and COVID-19 Campaign includes vaccine reminders sent to L.A. Care members via postcards, automated calls, and call center on-hold messaging. This is the second year that the campaign will include text messages to members, but this year, the focus will be on reaching members who are 50 years and older.
“Older adults are at increased risk of getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, or dying from the flu or COVID-19,” said Amin. “This is especially true if the person has underlying medical conditions that could cause complications.”
The campaign also includes seven vaccine events at L.A. Care and Blue Shield Promise Community Resource Centers across Los Angeles County. L.A. Care will send out communications blasts with information about the vaccine events to members 18 and older who have created an account through the member portal.
L.A. Care’s pharmacy partners are calling L.A. Care Medicare Plus (HMO D-SNP) members, and they will receive mailings to remind them of a $25 gift card incentive they can receive for getting the flu shot.
The campaign will include a robust social media campaign directed at everyone in Los Angeles County. The L.A. Care Fight the Flu and COVID-19 web page will serve as a hub for all flu-related information. In addition, L.A. Care is helping providers, trusted sources for our members, spread the word about vaccines by making materials available on the COVID-19 and Flu Resources and Tools webpage.
The Fight the Flu and COVID-19 Campaign will continue into the spring of 2025. Dr. Amin and other L.A. Care physicians are available now to speak about the importance of these vaccines to keep communities safe.