Protect Our Home Team – Get a Flu Shot!

Getting a flu shot is now more important than ever, to protect yourself, your family and those around you – everyone who makes up your Home Team.

Milford Regional is launching “Protect Our Home Team,” a campaign to highlight the importance of getting the flu vaccine, especially with the emergence of COVID-19.

As fall approaches, we face the dual challenge of flu season combined with our continued battle with COVID-19. This combination of serious illnesses threatens not only the health of our community, but threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system.

Influenza and COVID-19 have similar symptoms. Getting a flu shot will help minimize the infection and spread of the flu, thereby lessening the pressure on our health system, healthcare workers and hospital capacity.

A flu vaccination not only protects you, but the people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions. High risk groups include adults 65 years and older, pregnant women, young children and those with asthma, heart disease and stroke, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and cancer.

Milford Regional is also doing its part to “Protect Our Home Team,” with hospital staff (except for those with medical and religious exemptions) getting vaccinated.

“As healthcare advocates, we all need to model proven preventive measures, such as getting the flu vaccine, so that members of the community – our larger home team – follow our example,” says Edward J. Kelly, president & CEO of Milford Regional Medical Center, noting that there were more than 55,000 emergency department visits and 7,000-8,000 hospitalizations in the state during the 2019-2020 flu season. “When we layer COVID-19 on top of this trajectory, it is easy to see why we must all do our part in protecting our home team both in and outside the hospital and physician offices by getting the flu vaccine.”