A Touch of Flu (UK)
Immersive experiment visually reveals the spread of flu germs among kids
Brief Description
Flu can be seriously debilitating not just for children but for local health services. Vaccinating them is proven to reduce hospital admissions by 85%. The effect even spreads to the adults around them, reducing their doctor visits by 63%.
“A Touch of Flu” was a campaign created to dramatize the ease with which kids not only pick up, but spread, flu. Kids touch everything. They’re the ultimate super spreaders. But how do we reveal just how super they are at it when flu is invisible?
The experiment spread UV ink under schoolchildren’s noses then watched to see how far it would spread during the day. The answer was…literally…everywhere, as the traces of touch were spread across the school and each other. Colorful and powerful, the children cast light on why it’s so important to vaccinate them.
“A Touch of Flu” was implemented in the UK, with a focus on Manchester, where flu vaccination levels are some of the lowest in the nation.
Why is it significant?
This campaign is significant because it creatively illustrates the ease with which children can pick up and spread the flu, highlighting the importance of vaccination in preventing its spread. By conducting an experiment with UV ink under school children’s noses, the campaign effectively demonstrates how flu traces spread everywhere throughout the school environment, emphasizing the role of children as “super spreaders” of the virus.
Moreover, the campaign underscores the serious implications of flu not only for children but also for local health services, as it can lead to debilitating illness and increased hospital admissions.
The campaign’s success in surpassing forecast expectations by over 53%, resulting in more than 3 million vaccines administered and 79,687 additional children vaccinated, highlights the effectiveness of targeted vaccination campaigns in combating the spread of infectious diseases like the flu.