L.A. Care’s Chief Medical Officer Ready to Share Facts about the Vaccine
LOS ANGELES – The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lower rates of routine vaccinations for disease prevention, and that has public health experts concerned as we head into the next flu season. Mitigation measures during the height of the pandemic – shutdowns, social distancing, and masking – helped lower influenza activity across the country for the past two years. But many people are resuming normal activities without those precautions, and that could lead to a spike in flu activity this year. L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the country, has launched its 2022 Fight the Flu campaign to get the word out about the importance of life-saving flu vaccines.
“The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected when it comes to receiving recommended vaccines, including the flu vaccine, and that means many of our L.A. Care members are at an increased risk for preventable diseases like the flu,” said Richard Seidman, MD, MPH, L.A. Care Chief Medical Officer. “Influenza kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S. each year. It doesn’t have to happen. There are safe and effective vaccines that can save lives.”
The L.A. Care 2022 Fight the Flu campaign will include four flu vaccine clinics at Community Resource Centers jointly operated by L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan. They will target high-risk communities beginning late next month. We are also encouraging members to get flu shots from their primary care physician’s office or local pharmacies which, like the clinics, are at no cost to the member.
The campaign also includes flu shot reminders to members via newsletter articles, post cards, and automated calls. L.A. Care’s high-risk dual eligible members will receive informational calls from our pharmacy team and mailings reminding them of a $25 gift card incentive they can receive for getting the flu shot. There will also be a robust social media campaign directed at everyone in Los Angeles County. The L.A. Care Fight the Flu web page will serve as a hub for all flu-related information.
L.A. Care providers will receive a newsletter and fax asking them to remind their patients about the importance of getting a flu shot and strategies for vaccine promotion, with details about the clinics. L.A.