Play it safe
Toolbox
Published: October 30, 2009
The sicknesses circulating around central Vermont certainly are nothing to sneeze at. But Vermonters are acting responsibly, paying attention to news coverage, getting flu shots, and appear to be taking the necessary precautions.
Despite what the doomsayers lament — have weeks of food and water on hand for the pandemic — it appears this flu season, while serious, is not reaching the "fear factor" we were told to expect this fall.
However, health officials around the nation warn that this could be the first wave in an ocean of sickness this season. As long as everyone continues to act cautiously and thoughtfully, and contingency plans are made for worst-case scenarios in our schools and businesses, we should fare well.
That should not diminish the seriousness of what is occurring.
Vermont newspaper headlines in the last week (and the rumor mill and blogosphere) have fueled concerns at some local schools and day care facilities. Absenteeism has been high around Barre and at U-32, in particular. (In southern Vermont, Burr & Burton closed.) Twinfield and Montpelier have reported normal absentees so far for this flu season. Many school officials say they are more concerned about what to do with mass staff absences – not students being out.
While many students truly are sick, there is anecdotal evidence that many others are not. Perhaps they are not attending (or their parents aren't allowing them to) for fear they, too, might get sick. The state Health Department is not as concerned about student absences, because it wants people staying home if they might be sick. The state knows some cases might not be legitimate but, generally, it seems to feel the high number of school-age children out of the classroom indicates parents are doing the right thing by keeping them home.
So far, folks showing up at hospitals don't appear to be fakers or overreacting to flu fears; by and large they are people with legitimate respiratory issues.
Here are some other things to consider:
The H1N1 or swine flu so far is acting like seasonal flu. Overwhelmingly, people are staying home, drinking juice, sleeping, and recovering well.
There have been no serious side effects reported from the vaccine, with more than 10,500 doses already delivered in Vermont and more being given every day.
Vermont's health department is holding regular public briefings to keep Vermonters up to speed on the disease, and Commissioner Wendy Davis, who is a pediatrician, appears candid and honest in reporting the good and the bad news. That's the way to avoid fear-mongering — provide the facts.
Many Vermont businesses are making sure to have plans in place for workers who might get sick all at once. And communities, such as Barre, have signed on "flu gurus" — many of them nurses or retired health providers — to help facilitate difficult transitions if workforces are reduced.
Notably, people are not panicking. Sure, it's frightening to read that a Vermonter has died (although there were other complicating issues in that particular case). But more than 36,000 Americans die from the seasonal flu every year. This death, while unfortunate, does not signal anything other than health officials have been right all along: This flu will increase and people will die. That said, the Health Department was careless in allowing 800 doses to be ruined when the district office refrigerator malfunctioned. The vaccine is gold right now, and crucial for the public health.
The state has said it might consider holding some clinics for young children outside the school setting, or allow parents to attend with preschoolers and first-graders at in-school clinics, because some younger children are unwilling or are afraid of a scary shot without a family member at their side.
Likewise, experts say a seasonal flu vaccination for people 50 and older is important as well. Even before novel H1N1 became a threat, flu hospitalized more than 200,000 Americans each year. AARP and national health authorities have long recommended that people 50 and over get a seasonal flu vaccine each year.
In the meantime, do your part to limit the spread of the flu: Cover your cough; wash your hands often and well; keep yourself healthy with rest, exercise, and eating healthy foods; drink plenty of fluids; stay home if you get sick; and avoid close contact with people who are sick. (For more information on the H1N1 virus, visit healthvermont.gov.)
Don't be afraid of H1N1, be smart about it.
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