Cell phoneI know it’s officially spring, but I wanted to remind you that H1N1 flu (also known as swine flu) is still a risk and you should take steps to stay healthy. Even though the H1N1 outbreak in the U.S. was mild over the winter, the World Health Organization still considers H1N1 a pandemic.

Luckily for us, the Centers
for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has been providing information since the initial
H1N1 outbreak last year. CDC uses traditional channels and social media to get the message
out, but I have found their text messaging pilot to be very interesting.
To subscribe, you text H&EALTH to 87000 and you will receive three optional questions and then approximately three text messages a week
containing health information.

CDC’s text started in September as a three-month
pilot, but it’s still in operation. Recently, CDC expanded the focus of
the pilot and now offers health information about other health topics
like heart disease, smoking and other important health topics. CDC is thinking about making the text
messaging pilot permanent and they are interested to hear what you have
to say.

messaging pilot

What do you think of CDC’s text messaging pilot?

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