Do what you can to prevent the flu:
This is the most critical time for all of us to do the following and remind our co-workers and clients to do the same:
Wash your hands frequently, especially after being around others or touching possibly contaminated surfaces (the influenza virus can live on surfaces for up to 8 hours, especially in warm moist places like the palms of our hands);
Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or a sleeve; and
Stay home if ill with a fever for at least 24 hours fever-free (without the help of anti-fever medicines).
Posters with this message have been placed in bathrooms and common areas of state buildings.
If you think you are ill with the flu or someone you live with is:
You should call your health care provider to be considered for antiviral medicines (often known as Tamiflu or Relenza), if you are at high risk for complications and you are sick or someone close with you is sick (such as a household member). People at high risk for complications include:
Children younger than 2 years old
Adults 65 years and older
Pregnant women
People with certain chronic medical or immunosuppressive conditions
People younger than 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy
Get vaccinated:
Sign up your children for the H1N1 flu vaccine (and seasonal flu vaccine if available) when it is offered in their school.
If you have pre-school aged children or you are pregnant, call your pediatric or obstetrical health care provider for vaccine.
It is anticipated that H1N1 vaccination clinics will be provided for state employees at the worksite, once it is available for non-high priority distribution. Those in the high priority groups should consider seeking the vaccine sooner through their own health care provider or another source.
High priority groups for H1N1 vaccine are:
Pregnant women;
Household members and caregivers of infants less than six months old;
Children ages six months to 25 years;
People ages 25-65 with severe underlying conditions, especially respiratory and neurodevelopmental conditions; and
Health care workers (at this time, especially those with frequent direct contact with patients and infectious material who work in hospital emergency departments, pediatric, labor/delivery, and intensive care units).
If you are not in a high priority group for vaccine, know that eventually there will be sufficient supplies for everyone. As an example, although my children are in a high priority group and I hope they will be receiving vaccine in their school, I am not in a high priority group, and will wait until it is my turn.
If you have concerns about vaccine safety:
Know that the H1N1 flu vaccine is made the same way as seasonal flu vaccine, and is fully licensed by the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) using the same standards as with seasonal flu vaccine.
There are several forms of the vaccine; about 40% of the supply right now is the nasal mist (spray) form. It is licensed only for otherwise healthy non-pregnant 2 – 49 year olds with no underlying conditions. Therefore, it is being used a great deal in school and pediatric health care provider settings. It is the same as the seasonal flu mist spray that has been used very successfully for several years.
Stay updated:
Maine CDC’s website has updated Maine-specific information, including daily updates, as well as links to federal information. It can be located at: http://www.maineflu.gov/.
Health Alert Network: Sign up to receive urgent updates from Maine CDC’s Health Alert Network (HAN). The easiest and quickest way is to sign up is through the HAN Alert RSS feed at www.mainepublichealth.gov.
Follow Maine CDC’s Updates on:
o Facebook (search for “Maine CDC”)
Call or Email Us:
· General Public Call-in Number for Questions: 1-888-257-0990 (Monday - Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) NextTalk (deaf/hard of hearing) - (207) 629-5751
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