This week, my colleagues in the Department of Health and Human Services and I will be reaching out to Americans across the country to amplify a message we’ve been delivering for months: Go get your H1N1 flu vaccine.

National Influenza Vaccination Week begins Jan. 10, and with more than 130 million doses available, we’re encouraging all Americans to get vaccinated. As we have since April when the flu was identified, we’re making a special effort to reach out to American Indians and Alaska Natives who we know are more vulnerable to the flu than other Americans. So tell your friends and family: If you want to protect yourself and loved ones this winter, it’s time to get your H1N1 vaccine.

I know that getting your vaccine can be easy to put off, especially since the H1N1 flu is subsiding in many parts of the country. But the flu is an unpredictable disease. We don’t know when a third wave will hit. What we do know is that it’s extremely dangerous. By mid-November, we had already seen approximately 47 million cases of H1N1 flu, more than 200,000 hospitalizations, and almost 10,000 deaths.

The flu is especially dangerous for Americans in at-risk groups like people under the age of 25, pregnant women, and people with underlying conditions like asthma and diabetes. Unfortunately, that last group includes many American Indians and Alaska Natives, which explains why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found last month that we are four times more likely to die from the H1N1 flu than other Americans.

That’s why it’s so important that you go get your H1N1 vaccine. It’s also why outreach to tribal communities has been such a key part of our H1N1 vaccination program. Led by my boss, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, we started reaching out to tribes last spring. We assembled a broad team with officials from the White House, IHS, CDC, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Homeland Security. As IHS director, I quickly became involved in these discussions. One of the first things I did after I was sworn in May 12 was get briefed about H1N1. And I’ve been in touch with our flu team almost every day since then.

While manufacturers were growing the vaccine this summer, we were laying the groundwork for our response this fall. We set up weekly meetings between the IHS flu team and scientists from the CDC so we could monitor the prevalence of H1N1, coordinate guidance for patients and providers about how to prevent and treat the disease, and eventually, track the distribution of vaccine. We also organized biweekly conference calls where we could pass this information along to tribal leaders, answer their questions, and get their input about what we needed to do differently. Meanwhile, IHS scientists were conducting field investigations to learn about how the epidemic was affecting tribal communities.

The message we’ve been delivering consistently in all these communications is that the H1N1 flu is a serious threat for American Indians and Alaska Natives. That’s what our department leaders told tribal leaders at the White House Tribal Nations Conference President Barack Obama convened last November. It’s what I’ve told every group I’ve met with and every reporter who has interviewed me. And it’s also the message Secretary Sebelius delivered in her September speech to the National Indian Health Board. That’s why I was so disappointed to read a Dec. 23 article in Indian Country Today that incorrectly reported that she had minimized the threat of the H1N1 flu for tribal communities in that speech. Not only did the article get the facts about the speech wrong. But it diminished eight months of hard work by people in and out of government to help prepare tribes for this pandemic.

The real message that our friends and families need to hear this winter is that the H1N1 flu is still a dangerous threat and getting vaccinated is still our best defense. That’s why Secretary Sebelius sent a detailed H1N1 Resource Guide to tribal leaders in October with a comprehensive overview of how to get vaccine to their communities. It’s also why, responding to tribal concerns, the CDC director recently sent a letter to states telling them to make sure vaccine distribution to tribal communities is a priority. Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself, but there are other steps you can take to prevent the spread of flu. Washing your hands, covering your coughs, and staying home when you’re sick are all effective strategies. If you have any more questions about H1N1, visit www.flu.gov or contact your IHS provider.

As we head into National Influenza Vaccination Week, please help us spread this message about the importance of getting vaccinated. The health of our communities depends on it.

Dr. Yvette Roubideaux is the director of the Indian Health Service.

Editor’s note: Indian Country Today stands by the story mentioned by Dr. Roubideaux. Because our reporter was not allowed into the room to attend Secretary Sebelius’ Sept. 15 speech to the National Indian Health Board, he based portions of the article on interviews with health officials. ICT strives to provide substantial coverage of the H1N1 virus as it relates to American Indian/Alaska Native populations and will continue to push for improved access to events concerning the health and welfare of Native peoples.