Businesses are concerned about an Avian Flu pandemic but aren't sure what course of action to take, according to a survey released today by the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC), an employer-based organization in San Diego, Calif.
The survey found that while organizations are discussing repercussions of a possible pandemic, they are waiting for direction from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Joseph Wozniak, DMEC spokesman, said that while about 60 percent of businesses are discussing how they would handle the issue, "the downside is that we don't know to what degree is that discussion being held and at how high a level in a company is it being held?"
Companies wanting to set up a "corrective action" are having difficulty because they are "waiting for the medical director, waiting for the CDC, he said. "It's pretty difficult to set up a corrective action if we haven't defined the corrective action in completeness."
According to the CDC, the DMEC said, between 5 percent and 20 percent of U.S. residents get the flu each year. Of those, more than 200,000 are hospitalized for flu-related complications and 36,000 die. If 15 million workers get the flu this winter, DMEC said, the cost to U.S. employers would be nearly $20 billion.
In comparison, the DMEC said, costs of a pandemic could reach $675 billion and could plunge the economy into a serious recession. Essential participants in any effort to manage a flu pandemic would be employers.
Some of the key findings of DMEC's 2005 Flu Survey were that:
o 59 percent of respondents are discussing how they would handle a potential avian flu pandemic.
o 34.4 percent of respondents are waiting for information from the CDC on how to handle a potential avian flu pandemic.
o 89 percent of respondents said fewer than half of employees receive flu shots.
o 80.3 percent of respondents said their employers provide access to flu shots either at the workplace or a local clinic.
o 72.1 percent of respondents cover at least some of the cost of employee flu shots.
o 70.5 percent of respondent employers pay between $10 and $20 for each flu shot administered.
o While 90.2 percent of respondents manage flu by sending sick employees home, 45.9 percent encourage employees who stay at home with the flu to work from home if they are able.
To obtain an electronic copy of the DMEC 2005 Flu Survey, send an e-mail to cfo@dmec.org or call (800) 789-3632.
For more information, visit the Web site at www.dmec.org
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