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Experts on Thursday urged employers to strengthen their flu vaccination efforts to protect employees, reduce healthcare costs, and maintain productivity.
“Flu remains a year-round threat in the country that can disrupt employee health and workplace productivity,” infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante said during the SHIELD 2026: Redefining Corporate Health summit in Manila.
He said flu infections can disrupt employee health and workplace productivity, with transmission rates ranging from 11.5% in workplaces to as high as 32% within households.
“Influenza cases spike from June to November; now is the best time to get vaccinated before the start of the peak flu season,” Solante said.
He said vaccination remains the “most effective way to prevent influenza and severe outcomes,” as workplace vaccination can reduce the frequency of sick leaves by up to 56%.
Meanwhile, health economist Dr. John Paul Caesar Delos Trinos said investing in workplace vaccination could help employees stay healthy and avoid serious health complications.
“The savings from skipping vaccination today may become tomorrow’s hospitalization,” Delos Trinos said. “These are opportunity costs that companies do not immediately see.”
For behavioral scientist Shairra Bello of AHA! Behavioral Design, organizations need to understand the factors preventing employees from getting vaccinated to improve effective vaccination uptake.
She said human resources leaders can help improve vaccination uptake by making preventive healthcare more accessible within workplace culture and programs.
“For a behavior to occur, individuals must be able to do it, have the opportunity to do it, and be more motivated to do it than not,” she said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), seasonal influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses.
It spreads easily between people coughing or sneezing, with symptoms such as the onset of fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, and fatigue. — JMA, GMA News