Flu information sent to 1.4 million Iowa households

Reminding Iowans to wash their hands and cover their coughs cost more than $200,000.

“Fight the Flu” post cards are being delivered this week to 1.4 million addresses in Iowa.

The post cards, which illustrate the “3 C's” - cover your cough; clean your hands and contain germs by staying home when sick - are part of an Iowa Department of Public Health campaign for flu season.

Billboards and public service messages are also part of the campaign.

“We looked at a lot of different avenues to get the information out,” department spokeswoman Polly Carver-Kimm said. “The best way we thought to get the information to everyone in all parts of the state was delivering it right to their mailboxes.”

The postcards, sent at a cost of $226,682, were funded through a $6.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for H1N1 preparedness.

Of that amount, 76 percent is going to local public health agencies for vaccine administration and other needs; 12 percent to hospitals; 8 percent to the Iowa Department of Public Health and 4 percent to University Hygienic Laboratory.

Information on the post cards targets both seasonal and H1N1 flu.

Cases of H1N1 flu are increasing in the state and three Iowans have died from the virus, all in Eastern Iowa.

The cards note that the state health department activated its Influenza Hotline - 1-800-447-1985 - to provide more information about the flu.

Carver-Kimm said the post cards are meant to serve as a reminder.

If Iowans remember to cough into their elbows instead of their hands to avoid spreading germs, she said, “it will be worth the post card.”