Help Stop the Flu

In addition to taking personal responsibility for handwashing, covering your cough, and getting vaccinated (when appropriate), please take a few moments to encourage flu prevention among others in the Cornell community.

Posters (flu prevention and treatment)
E-mail messages, newsletter articles, conversation starters
Other resources

Posters for display (before and during flu season)

These posters are designed to download and print for display in your own work or living environment. They include tips on:

PREVENTION

Boost your immunity (pdf) 
Prepare for cold and flu season (pdf) hockey image 
Prepare for cold and flu season (pdf) person in parka and scarf 
Handwashing (pdf) handprints: 10 easy ways
Wash Up (pdf) NEW 
Avoid the flu (pdf)  
Get a flu shot (pdf) take one for the team NEW
Get a flu shot (pdf) the flu feels worse NEW

MANAGEMENT OF THE FLU 
Knowing when/if you should call in sick (pdf)
Taking care of yourself if you have the flu (pdf)

Please hang the posters wherever they may be viewed readily by others. Such locations may include: 

• public restrooms
• common kitchen or "break" areas
• public bulletin boards
• office, residence hall, and apartment doors

Feel free also to include poster pdfs in e-mails to members of your department, school, college, community group, etc.

Thankfully, flu prevention messages can be contagious! Some of the messages incorporated in these posters originated at other local, state, and federal prevention programs. (Poster designs are original.) You are welcome to further adapt any of the designs/messages for use in other communities. We ask only that you include an acknowledgment: "Adapted with permission from Cornell University Gannett Health Services."

Flu shot clinics: Schedule and advertisement 

Let others know about our walk-in flu shot clinics. Print a copy of the schedule (pdf); then advertise the clinic(s) scheduled near your building/quad/etc. by posting this flyer (pdf).

E-mail messages, newsletter articles, conversation starters

If you need help crafting text for your message, consider some of these starters:

• Did you know hand-washing is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, including influenza (“the flu”). It's true, and it's relatively easy to do. Please help keep our work environment flu-free, by washing your hands consistently and correctly. 
• Don’t have time for the flu? Take time to prevent it. Coughs and sneezes spread virus into the air, and then onto surfaces. Help ensure the health of our community by taking measures to minimize your own risk of infection. Be sure to wash your hands often and well; be good to your immune system; and cover your mouth and nose every time you cough or sneeze.
• Getting a flu shot is still the best protection against the flu. Get yours this year for the benefit of your families, co-workers, and students, as well as for yourself. And remember:
  - you cannot get the flu (influenza) from the vaccine—it is a killed virus vaccine
  - never having had the flu does not mean you won't get it this year
  - if you get the flu after having had the vaccination, it will be a shorter and milder case
  - the small amount of discomfort from the vaccination is much less than the many days of fever and body aches that accompany influenza
• Your work is important. So is staying home from work when you are sick. In fact, it's one of the best ways to limit the spread of colds and flu within the Cornell community. If you are sick, and possibly contagious to others, please don't expose others to your germs. Stay home and recover.
• Practice healthy habits. Chances are you are exposed daily to people who have colds or flu, so give your immune system a fighting chance. Take good care of yourself. Exercise regularly; get plenty of rest, and eat healthy meals. Additionally, wash your hands frequently, and keep alcohol-based sanitizers at the ready for times you can’t use hot water and soap.
• Please keep your germs to yourself. Viruses transmit easily. Please cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Or, if you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your sleeve (not your hands). Help keep our work environment flu-free, by practicing this technique consistently. 
• Does the thought of the flu have you feeling blue? Here are three simple things you can do: Wash your hands regularly with warm water and soap; muffle your cough and sneezes (use your sleeve or a tissue); stay home if you are sick.

Other resources

• "Why Don't We Do It In Our Sleeves?" — a brief and witty video that teaches an unforgettable lesson about "respiratory hygiene."
• New York State Department of Health flu posters
• CDC messages and posters for stopping the spread of germs at home, work, and school