Survey: One-third of flu-ridden employees still come to work

A public health survey of New York City metro area dwellers revealed one-third of workers with the flu go into work even though they know the flu is contagious.

The newly commissioned South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll was conducted in December with 600 responses from adults in New York City and on Long Island.

The poll revealed the majority of people (93 percent) know the flu is spread from person to person, and 66 percent said they know people can die from the flu.

However, just 57 percent of respondents said they had gotten a flu shot — even though 66 percent agreed people should get the flu shot each year.

Additionally, 33 percent said they had gone to work with the flu at least once in their life.

"You should not be going to work if you are sick for two reasons: rest is important to recovery and, by going into work, you greatly increase the chances of spreading the flu," said Adhi Sharma, MD, CMO of South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, N.Y. "The flu is an example of a disease that annually causes tens of thousands of hospital and emergency department visits that often could be avoided if people took some simple preventative steps like getting the flu shot, washing their hands frequently and staying at home if they have the flu."

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