Well, I can't blame them, really

Working around the public and taking public transportation with underlying health conditions bothered me more than my status as a hospital employee. Given that I work in a tertiary care unit and have minimal patient contact, I was pretty confident on that point. It's being out on the front lines of working with the public that is a bit scary, and if you happen to deal with thousands of snotty children, well, you're a better person than I, Santa.

Better not cough: Santas lobby for H1N1 shots: Group asks for priority since exposure to kids, being overweight raises risk

Forget cookies and milk. Santa wants the swine flu vaccine.

Many of the nation's Santas want to be given priority for the vaccine and not just because of those runny-nosed kids. There's also the not-so-little matter of that round belly. Research has suggested obesity could be a risk factor.

Infection control is such a big issue. We're handling our Santa visit a little differently than in past years. And I noticed this morning that there was not a single magazine in the lobby. Since I'm in charge of putting them there, and I'd had experience as a patient of Lexington Clinic where they'd removed theirs, I checked with the powers that be and we are holding off on magazines for the near future, which I think is a good idea. Every hospital I've seen has taken measures to strike a balance between good infection control and making things an antiseptic nightmare. I love what one of the Santas in the article said: 'I've had my H1N1. I've had my seasonal flu shot. This is my year for my pneumonia booster. I don't know what else I can do except encapsulate myself in plastic.'

Hopefully he won't have to do that. But I can tell you something that every parent can do to help protect Santa: If your child is ill, don't take him or her to see the Jolly Old Elf and interact with other children. Skip the trip to the mall. Come back another day. That helps keep everyone healthy.

Oh, by the way

I got my Tamiflu today. That was really quick. I still don't know how they manage to do it without me seeing a doctor face-to-face, but at least if I get sick, I have it on hand.

I signed up for an unexpected benefit yesterday

of working at the gas station--Tamiflu. In an effort to help curtail pandemic flu, our company is offering Tamiflu to employees so that they have it on hand when needed. (They are, of course, also advocating both seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccination as a preventative). But since Tamiflu works best by being used within the first 48 hours to help mitigate the course of the disease, they wanted us to have access to it in case we get sick. Since it's fairly expensive (and let's face it, gas station clerks don't get paid much, and part-timers don't get health care), they decided to make it available at no cost to the employee. There was a distribution back in the spring that I missed entirely, but they decided to offer it again, so I signed up for it. I had to fill out a questionnaire on my health, list medications, etc., and provide information so a doctor can contact me should he or she need additional information.

I've already had my seasonal flu shot. They have some of the live, attenuated nasal mist H1N1 vaccine at the hospital where I work, but I'm not a candidate because of the underlying conditions of asthma and diabetes. So the first clinic for the H1N1 shots that I'll be able to get to that's run by the health department is November 21st. I hope there will still be plenty of vaccine at that point.

Oh, my, nothing like body bags to say you're all going to die

Canada anger at 'flu body bags'

Large numbers of body bags were sent to a number of indigenous reserves in Manitoba. The government has said that it was part of a routine re-stocking. The indigenous peoples were alarmed and offended. The Minister of Health, herself an aboriginal, has ordered an enquiry. The indigenous communities had suffered a disproportionate rate of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) several months ago. The latest faux pas came after hand gel was delayed over concerns that alcoholics would abuse it.

Sick of swine flu?

In Sneeze, you play an influenza virus set on infecting as many people as you can!

Thanks to David Rothman, who includes some nifty pictures from the game in his blog post, including one in a library.

Keep in mind I've been making fun of the PANIC potential of swine flu. I certainly don't mean to trivialise the loss of life that has happened, but it does appear to be a weak virus unlikely to cause a virulent pandemic...unless it mutates.

Don't Panic!

Graham has done it again...



I do subscribe to his channel, but YKWIA showed it to me before I got around to it myself.

Okay folks, let's not panic

Today included lots of e-mails from librarians about links to websites dealing with swine flu, one from our infection control nurse, one from our materials management director regarding travel and the flu, multiple news stories in my reader, and non-stop news coverage of the disease and its spread.

But my day was made by David Rothman, who shared a great comic on Twitter as a means to spread meaningless gloom and doom. It's great. It's best if you know anything about Twitter, but I think even if you don't, it's still fun. The comic is xkcd, and it is by Randall Munroe. Enjoy.



I'm not saying we shouldn't be concerned about the disease, but there's no reason to run off half-cocked either. Just do what you always do to avoid the flu--avoid those who are sick, wash your hands often, and if you do get sick, for goodness sake, stay home to minimise contagion and wash your hands often, especially after coughing or sneezing. I'm just saying. One interesting link I was given, though, involved Google's mapping of the outbreak. If you want to see descriptions of the confirmed cases and where they are on the map, check it out. Thanks to Helena Vonville of Texas for that link.