Game to prevent the flu
SA Health has launched a new interactive Facebook game to help remind South Australians about how quickly influenza can spread and the best ways to prevent it.
SA Health has launched a new interactive Facebook game to help remind South Australians about how quickly influenza can spread and the best ways to prevent it.
The game, available on both desktop and mobile devices, encourages users to virtually vaccinate their Facebook friends before they catch the flu.
Professor Paddy Phillips said the game was a fun way to visually demonstrate how quickly influenza can spread throughout the community.
“Influenza is a very serious illness which leads to more than 18,000 hospitalisations in Australia each year,” Professor Phillips said.
“Getting a flu vaccination every year is the best way to protect not only yourself, but also your friends and family, against the influenza strains currently circulating.
“Many people seem to mistakenly think that just because they haven’t had the flu before, or they are healthy, they don’t need a vaccination.
“The more people who are vaccinated, the less chance the illness has to spread throughout the rest of the community.
“This game was devised to show people how easily flu can spread, and the potential health impacts the illness can have, especially on those who are more vulnerable.
“We’re hoping the game will get people talking and perhaps become as viral as influenza itself.”
The game features an image of a woman who sneezes out pictures of your Facebook friends, prompting you to click on their pictures and virtually vaccinate as many as possible before the time runs out and they “catch the flu”.
For those who would prefer to get an actual vaccine rather than a virtual one, it’s not too late to get the seasonal influenza vaccine for 2013.
The influenza vaccine is free of charge for those who are most vulnerable, including people aged 65 years and over; pregnant women; young children; or people with chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and lung disease.
For people not in those groups, some local GPs, pharmacies or councils offer the vaccine for between $25 to $40. Please phone ahead to check the vaccine is in stock.
Share the game, not the flu – how many friends can you save? www.flu.sa.gov.au
