Flu Public Service Announcements (PSAs)

This series of public service announcements (PSAs) is part of an effort on the part of the United States (US) government's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to communicate essential information on seasonal, H1N1 (swine), H5N1 (bird), and pandemic influenza. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports, during the time period from April through November 14 2009, between 34 million and 67 million cases of 2009 H1N1 occurred in the US, with between about 7,070 and 13,930 deaths. Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that, as of December 6 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory-confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009.

In the context of this pandemic, HHS has developed an interactive Flu.gov website, which provides specific details on H1N1 and all types of flu for the general public, health and emergency preparedness professionals, policy makers, government and business leaders, school systems, and local communities. Amongst the offerings on Flu.gov are a variety of health communication materials.

One type of resource provided here are PSAs, several of which use entertaining strategies to engage children and people of all ages in flu prevention behaviours: getting vaccinated, washing hands frequently and properly, sneezing into one's elbow, visiting flu.gov to educate oneself further. The PSAs offered on this webpage may be accessed by clicking on the links or videos provided in order to listen (e.g., via MP3s) or watch (e.g., on YouTube):

• "Sid the Science Kid Gets a Flu Shot" - "Stopping that virus, that's our goal!" The animated character/puppet Sid the Science Kid and his classmates, who appear on the half-hour PBS television series sing a song about the importance of getting a flu vaccine. This short video is part of a special episode of Sid the Science Kid that premiered in October 2009 titled "Getting a Shot: You can do it!"
• "The Governor with Sid: Why the flu vaccine?" - Across the country, state Governors teamed up with Sid the Science Kid to help spread the message of flu prevention. Because children are at higher risk of H1N1, Sid the Science Kid finds out that he is getting the H1N1 flu shot and wants to know why. In separate 30-second videos, 15 governors and 2 other public officials help explain why children need to be vaccinated.
• Elmo Flu PSAs - A series of PSAs are geared toward young children who are fans of the muppet Elmo and human characters from the children's television series "Sesame Street". For instance, Elmo and Rosita sing a song to teach kids to sneeze into their elbow (English and Spanish), Elmo and Luis talk about the need for parents to think about what would happen if they had a child get sick with the flu (English and Spanish), and Elmo and Gordon offer flu prevention tips in 4 video PSAs on staying happy and healthy by practicing healthy habits such as washing their hands.
• "Together We Can All Fight the Flu" (TV and radio) - HHS joined with the Ad Council to launch this nationwide campaign that encourages Americans to get vaccinated against the 2009 H1N1 flu virus. Specific versions of the PSAs have been developed for parents (English and Spanish language), pregnant women (English and Spanish), and young adults (English).
• Celebrity PSAs - Marc Anthony, Amy Ryan, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee give simple advice on how to prevent getting and spreading the flu.
• 2009 Flu Prevention PSA Contest Finalists & Special Mentions - On July 9 2009, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a video PSA contest on flu prevention. The top 10 videos were put to vote on YouTube for the public to select the overall winner; these top videos, plus a special Spanish-language mention, may be viewed online.
• PSAs from Congressional Members, Governors, and state officials - In these short PSAs, state leaders remind the citizens they serve to take simple steps to protect themselves from the flu. One may click on an individual state on an online map to hear a state-specific message.
• Other types of video PSAs, which total 4 as of this writing, may be accessed here.