Red Cross Poll Shows Women Taking More Precaution Against Flu

It’s refreshing to see that most Americans are taking the flu seriously. According to an recent Red Cross survey, 78% of adults are washing their hands more carefully and frequently compared to only 55% in May. (Remember 20 seconds!) Also 75% of adults are taking more care in making sure they are covering their coughs and sneezes. Women are more like than men to be taking these steps, for instance women are almost 20% more likely than men to be cleaning surfaces with disinfectant at home and at work than men (72% of women and 53% of men.) One thing that may not surprise American men is that women are also 20% more likely then men to be giving others advice on how to avoid the flu (58% of women are giving out advice, compared to 38% of men.)

It’s easy to understand why people are taking these precautions, since 1 in 5 Americans knows someone who has had the flu.

Those are great first steps but there are still things to do to prepare for the flu: only 20% of Americans have talked to their supervisors about they should do if they have to take time for because they have the flu. This is something you definitely want to do before you are home sick! Also, only about half of Americans have gathered an adequate (2-weeks) supply of food and water in their homes in preparation for the flu.

People do have some concerns: about half of Americans are concerned about the H1N1 flu vaccine. Flu.gov has great information on the vaccine and its safety.