Uber is usually most popular in the evenings when passengers are too drunk to drive but on Friday taxi service will transport health to its customers’ offices.
The Discovery Vaccination campaign‚ which ends just after 3pm on Friday‚ enables Uber app users to ask for a flu vaccination from a nurse‚ who will be transported straight to the clients’ office for R100.
The vaccine is free and Discovery medical aid will refund the R100 Uber fee to its members who will earn 1000 Vitality points. The nurse will give up to five people the vaccine. Anyone with a smart phone can download the app.
The National Institute of Communicable Diseases recommends the flu vaccines for everyone‚ not just those afraid of man flu.
In addition‚ having the jab will reduce the use of antibiotics.
A doctor may prescribe antibiotics to treat your chest infection because it is difficult to know whether it is caused by a virus or bacteria – and many patients expect to leave a doctor’s room with a script.
Not only do antibiotics do nothing to prevent flu‚ the more they are used‚ the less likely they will be effective in future. The World Heath Organisation estimates that from 2050 there will be 10 million deaths a year from infections (in a minor cut) that are now resistant to antibiotics.
The head of the Institute Professor Shabir Madhi said flu can last for up to 10 days and “in ‘healthy adults’ still results in severe enough illness to warrant them needing to take time off from their daily activities“.
Madhi carried out the world’s first randomised controlled study to test the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in pregnant women. The results were published last year. The study found the vaccine was safe and effective for the pregnant woman and even protected the baby from flu for the first three months after birth.
He said: “Vaccination of pregnant women has the added advantage of protecting their young infants against influenza illness‚ which is especially important since young infants have the highest risk of hospitalisation for influenza illness.”
Vaccination was the only strategy that has been proven to prevent influenza‚ he said. Even though the vaccines don’t work against every flu strain‚ the symptoms would not be as severe‚ according to Madhi. “Even though the vaccines do not provide 100% protection‚ they mitigate the risk of severe illness‚ especially in those at high risk of severe illness. This includes adults with lung or heart problems‚ pregnant women‚ HIV-infected and other immunocompromised patients.”
In the May edition of SA Medical Journal‚ Professor Marc Mendelson of Infectious Diseases Unit at UCT says the post-antobiotic era is already here in South Africa‚ with people dying from antibiotic resistant infections.
So have your flu jab.
Uber‚ Discovery team up to boost flu jabs
Uber is usually most popular in the evenings when passengers are too drunk to drive but on Friday taxi service will transport health to its customers’ offices.
The Discovery Vaccination campaign‚ which ends just after 3pm on Friday‚ enables Uber app users to ask for a flu vaccination from a nurse‚ who will be transported straight to the clients’ office for R100.
The vaccine is free and Discovery medical aid will refund the R100 Uber fee to its members who will earn 1000 Vitality points. The nurse will give up to five people the vaccine. Anyone with a smart phone can download the app.
The National Institute of Communicable Diseases recommends the flu vaccines for everyone‚ not just those afraid of man flu.
In addition‚ having the jab will reduce the use of antibiotics.
A doctor may prescribe antibiotics to treat your chest infection because it is difficult to know whether it is caused by a virus or bacteria – and many patients expect to leave a doctor’s room with a script.
Not only do antibiotics do nothing to prevent flu‚ the more they are used‚ the less likely they will be effective in future. The World Heath Organisation estimates that from 2050 there will be 10 million deaths a year from infections (in a minor cut) that are now resistant to antibiotics.
The head of the Institute Professor Shabir Madhi said flu can last for up to 10 days and “in ‘healthy adults’ still results in severe enough illness to warrant them needing to take time off from their daily activities“.
Madhi carried out the world’s first randomised controlled study to test the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in pregnant women. The results were published last year. The study found the vaccine was safe and effective for the pregnant woman and even protected the baby from flu for the first three months after birth.
He said: “Vaccination of pregnant women has the added advantage of protecting their young infants against influenza illness‚ which is especially important since young infants have the highest risk of hospitalisation for influenza illness.”
Vaccination was the only strategy that has been proven to prevent influenza‚ he said. Even though the vaccines don’t work against every flu strain‚ the symptoms would not be as severe‚ according to Madhi. “Even though the vaccines do not provide 100% protection‚ they mitigate the risk of severe illness‚ especially in those at high risk of severe illness. This includes adults with lung or heart problems‚ pregnant women‚ HIV-infected and other immunocompromised patients.”
In the May edition of SA Medical Journal‚ Professor Marc Mendelson of Infectious Diseases Unit at UCT says the post-antobiotic era is already here in South Africa‚ with people dying from antibiotic resistant infections.
So have your flu jab.
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