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SALT LAKE CITY — If getting sick isn't bad enough, this year's influenza outbreak can hurt your wallet and the U.S. economy, too.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says influenza currently is in 47 states, including Utah. The eastern states have been hit hard; New York even declared a health emergency. Utah has had at least 233 hospitalizations due to the virus this season.
The illness is making things worse for business at a time when the economy is already pretty fragile. Business and investing website Investopedia says the flu has an economic effect.
Every year, the U.S. economy loses an estimated $87 billion because of influenza, according to a 2007 study by the Immunization Service Division . That includes things like doctor visits, medicine, time taken off work and even death.
Businesses also lose money because often their employees are home sick instead of working, and clients don't show up to appointments because they're sick, too.
They're canceling appointments. They're re-scheduling. They're coming in and coughing. It's been bad.
–Terri Winchester, Hair Spa
"They're canceling appointments," said Terri Winchester of Hair Spa. "They're re-scheduling. They're coming in and coughing. It's been bad."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says an estimated 41.7 million Americans, about one in three, don't have paid sick time. And that, they say, actually multiplies the problem.
"Sick workers today are worried about losing their jobs," said John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "Thirty-eight percent of them don't get paid for their sick days, so they're coming in sick. They're infecting others."
Experts say to fight the flu in the work place, businesses should limit the number of meetings, let people work from home if possible, and provide plenty of sanitizer.
Getting the flu hits people without insurance the hardest. Uninsured Americans can expect to pay more than $100 just to see a doctor, who will likely prescribe Tamiflu or Relenza. Those two medications don't have generic alternatives and can cost another $100 a 10-day dose.
UDOH vaccine locator
Need a flu vaccine? Click on the link above to find a facility near you that has the vaccine in stock.But the average flu shot costs only $35, and doctors say it's not too late to get one.
"It does prevent the complications, pneumonia, hospitalizations, and death," said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University.
If you're interested in a flu shot, see the link on this page.
