HHS HealthBeat (November 12, 2009)

Happy birthday to you. Twice.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Want to reduce your risk of catching the flu? Wash your hands often with soap and warm water. Washing cleans off viruses you can pick up from surfaces with flu germs on them.

And with people concerned about pandemic H1N1 flu as well as seasonal flu, hand washing is something that everyone can do.

But a dab and a swipe isn’t enough. You need about 20 seconds. That’s about how long it takes to sing the happy birthday song twice, as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius demonstrated with some preschoolers – including four-year-old birthday boy Marcus.  

[Secretary Sebelius sings] "Happy birthday, dear Marcus..."

HHS, the Ad Council and the producers of Sesame Street are behind the message, with TV PSAs that show kids – and adults, too – the importance of everyday healthy habits.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011