H1N1 Flu Information for Staff, Pa= rents and Students

Updated August 24, 2009=

Protecting yourself against flu: a few simple steps

A few simple, common-sen= se precautions are still the most important thing you can do to keep from gett= ing the flu – or spreading it to others. That applies to both seasonal flu and novel H1N1.

Cover your nose and mouth with your sleeve or a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Clean your hands frequently and thoroughly – with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand-sanitizer solution.
Limit your contact with others who may be ill.
Clean your hands after shaking hands or having other close contact with oth= ers and before eating or preparing food, or touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Be aware of the symptoms of novel H1N1, which are similar to those for seasonal flu:

fever
cough
sore throat
runny or stuffy= nose
body aches
headache=
chills <= /li>
fatigue<= /li>

In some cases, symptoms of novel H1N1 can also include vomiting and diar= rhea – which are not typically symptoms of seasonal flu.
Stay home from work or school – and generally avoid going out in pub= lic – if you are sick with symptoms of the flu.
If you are an employer, encourage your employees to stay home if they are sick with flu symptoms.
In general, if you are ill with flu symptoms, stay home from work, schoo= l or other places where people gather until 24 hours after your fever subsides.
Health care workers with flu symptoms should continue to observer earlier guidelines: Stay home until seven days after their symptoms first appeared – or 24 hours after their symptoms go away – whichever is longer.
Guidelines for children who attend daycare and daycare workers are underdevelopm= ent, and should be available soon.
If you are severely ill with the flu, contact your health-care provider,= but take steps to avoid exposing others to the flu.

Call first to see if you need to actually see your provider in person.
If you do need to see your provider, steps can be taken to avoid exposi= ng other patients to the flu.

Protecting yourself against flu: vaccination<= /p>

· This year, you may need to get up to three separate doses of flu vaccine – two doses to protect against novel H1= N1 and one dose for regular seasonal flu.

· Since both novel H= 1N1 and regular seasonal flu may be making people sick this fall, it is more important than ever this year to get vaccinated against “seasonalR= 21; flu.

· The seasonal vaccine will not protect against novel H1N1.

· A vaccine for novel H1N1 flu is now being developed and is expected to be available by this coming fall – possi= bly by mid-October.

· Testing to determine the safety and effectiveness of the novel H1N1 vaccine is currently underway.

· Because no one had ever been exposed to novel H1N1 before this past spring, it may take two doses of vaccine to immunize people fully.

· It is not clear yet whether you will be able= to get the seasonal vaccine and one of the two doses of novel H1N vaccine during t= he same clinic visit.

· Since the seasonal vaccine will likely be available before the novel H1N1 vaccine, you should go ahead and get a seas= onal flu shot anyway – and if you are in a high-risk group for severe illn= ess from H1N1, get your novel H1N1 vaccination later.

· Initial shipments of the seasonal vaccine are already arriving in Minnesota= . Check with your health-care provider and be alert for announcements about special flu shot clinics so that you can get vaccinated.

Seasonal Flu = Vaccine

· Supplies of seasonal flu vaccine should be a= mple – sufficient to vaccinate anybody who wants it.

· Initial shipments of the seasonal vaccine are already arriving in the state.

· As in past years, seasonal flu vaccination w= ill be available either from your regular health-care provider or through speci= ally scheduled public clinics. Information about public clinics will be posted on the MDH Web site as soon as it is available.

· Information about public clinics may also be available from your local health department.

· The seasonal vaccine is especially recommend= ed for people at high risk of serious complications from the flu. These groups include:

o Children and adolescents from six months to 18 years of age

o Adults age 50 and over

o Women who will be pregnant during flu season

o Health-care workers

o People living in nursing homes or other chronic care facilities

o People who live with or care for children age five or younger (especially those un= der six months, who cannot be vaccinated against flu)

o Children and adolescents who regularly take aspirin as part of their medical treatme= nt (because they may be at risk of a complication called Reye Syndrome if they= get the flu)

o People who are at risk of complications because of an underlying medical condition, including:

§ some kinds of conditions that may interfere = with breathing

§ chronic lung disease

§ chronic cardiovascular disease (except hypertension)

§ chronic kidney disease

§ chronic liver disease

§ chronic metabolic conditions, or conditions involving the blood or blood-forming organs (including diabetes)

§ suppressed immune systems (due to medical treatment or infection)

o People who live with or care for people with conditions that place them at high ri= sk of flu complications.

Novel H1N1 Va= ccine

· A vaccine for novel H1N1 flu is now in the process of being developed and tested.

· Exact predictions about how much novel H1N1 vaccine we will have – and when it will be available – are difficult to make at this point. Current estimates are just that – estimates.

· The planned vaccination effort is designed t= o be flexible – so that available vaccine can be used for people at highest risk of serious illness, if supplies turn out to be limited.

· CDC currently expects to have enough of the = new vaccine to begin vaccinating those at highest risk of serious illness by mid-October.

· Delivery of the vaccine may be spread out ov= er a period of time, with a large initial shipment and smaller additional shipme= nts over the next few weeks.

· Plans for vaccinating people against H1N1 are still being developed.

o The vaccination effort may include both vaccination by regular health-care providers and specially scheduled public clinics.

o Details will be announced as they become available.

· CDC has not formally issued recommendations about who should get the novel H1N1 vaccine. However, the following groups = have been recommended to get the vaccine, based on their risk of severe disease:=

o Pregnant women

§o People who live with or care for children under the age of six months.

o Health care workers and emergency personnel

o All children, adolescents and young adults aged six months through 24 years

§The median age of patients hospitalized with novel H1N1= in Minnesota is 12 = years.

o People aged 25 to 64 who are at risk of complications because of an underlying med= ical or immune system condition, including:

§§§§§§§o Although people age 65 and older are still a priority group for seasonal flu vaccina= tion, they are not among the priority groups for novel H1N1 vaccination.

o Older people appear to be at lower risk than other groups for getting novel H1N1 = flu – although it can still cause severe illness in this group.

o The proposed groups for whom novel H1N1 will be recommended include an estimated 159 million people in the U.S.

o If the vaccine is in short supply, the recommendations will be adjusted to foc= us vaccination efforts on a smaller group of about 40 million people.

o This smaller group will still include pregnant women and people who live with or care for children under six months. But it will = also focus on a smaller segment of the other groups:

It still includes health care workers and emergency personnel, but only= if they have direct contact with novel H1N1 flu patients.
It includes all children aged six months through four years, instead of children and adults aged six months through 24 years.
It includes people with chronic medical conditions or immune system problems who= are 5 to 18 years of age, instead of 25 to 64 years of age.