By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

The Family Stories page of the Families Fighting Flu website looks like a yearbook: a grid of mostly young, smiling faces arranged alphabetically by last name.

But instead of celebrating varsity letters and valedictorians, this yearbook highlights the stories of families whose lives were devastated by influenza.

“You figure ‘Ah, it’s just the flu — you get better and go about your day,’” said Joe Marotta of Baldwinsville.

Unfortunately, that was not the case for Joe and Serese Marotta’s 5-year-old son, Joseph. Nine days after he came down with the sniffles and a cough, Joseph died Oct. 18, 2009, from H1N1, aka swine flu.

The Marotta family dutifully received their flu shots every year. But in 2009, the vaccine did not cover the newly discovered strain of H1N1. Today’s flu vaccine does include the strain.

After Joseph’s death, the Marottas — then living near Dayton, Ohio — did an interview with a local television station to raise awareness of the importance of flu shots. Families Fighting Flu reached out to Joe and Serese after seeing the story.

“Families Fighting Flu found us,” Joe said.

Founded in 2004, FFF provides educational resources about influenza and the flu vaccine, sends speakers to national and international events and advocates for annual flu shots. With a stable of 12 medical advisors and 3,000 advocates, FFF has influenced policy decisions as well.

“Our organization was instrumental in the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) decision to expand its flu vaccination recommendation to include all individuals 6 months of age and older,” reads the FFF website.

While Joe and Serese Marotta considered themselves educated, their experience with Joseph’s battle with the flu showed them there was much more to learn.

“The biggest surprise was the number of kids that pass away from influenza each year, particularly the number of healthy children,” Joe said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from which FFF draws its data, between 9.3 million and 45 million Americans contract influenza each year. As many as 810,000 people are hospitalized because of the flu, and about 20,000 of those hospitalizations are kids under 5. Each year, the flu kills between 12,000 and 61,000 people in the U.S., including about 100 children.

“I figured if I didn’t know the seriousness of the flu and how deadly it is — and I consider myself updated on current events — then other people don’t know either,” Joe said.

Joe is now a member of the FFF board of directors, and Serese is the organization’s chief operating officer. The family moved back to the Syracuse area in 2012. (Joe is originally from Solvay and Serese hails from Cicero.) Their 18-year-old daughter, Emma, recently started her first year at college.

Emma’s freshman year has coincided with the coronavirus pandemic, which brings the Marotta family’s mission of flu shot advocacy into greater focus.

“It’s extremely nerve-racking,” Joe said. “You hear these stories about SUNY Oswego having an explosion [of  COVID-19] and SUNY Oneonta had an explosion, and unfortunately you’ll be hearing next that the flu has exploded on these campuses, so that’s what we’re trying to prevent.”

Many symptoms of the flu and COVID-19 overlap, but the viruses that cause each illness are distinct. The flu vaccine does not protect against COVID-19, but reducing the risk of flu eases the strain on the COVID-stressed health care system.

“The hospital systems have been overrun by COVID-19,” Joe said. “Now more than ever is extremely important to protect yourself and protect your family against the flu.”

According to a survey of 1,446 people done earlier this year by FFF and Sanofi, one-third of people do not believe they are at risk of COVID-19 or the flu.

“It is frustrating to also find that more than 40% do not agree it is important to get a flu vaccine to remain healthy and not burden the health system during the upcoming flu season,” reads the FFF website. “Combined with persistent myths around flu vaccine safety and effectiveness, there is a clear need to urgently educate Americans about what they can do to stay healthy and how they can do their part to keep their communities safe as COVID-19 continues to circulate during flu season.”

The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older receive the flu shot each year. (See sidebar for more information.)

“You’ve got to think of the person that’s going through chemo treatment or the person who’s allergic to the flu vaccine. When you get the flu vaccine you’re not only protecting yourself, you’re protecting the people around you,” Joe said.

FFF and the Marotta family are urging people to make the Families Fighting Flu Vaccination Promise. Visit familiesfightingflu.org/promise to sign the Promise Wall and receive an email reminder to get your flu shot. You can also sign up for text message reminders and more information about influenza and the flu shot by texting FIGHTFLU to 47177.

“Make that promise not only to yourself but to your friends, family and your community to go get that flu shot,” Joe Marotta said.