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| Young people, ages 20 to 29, are at risk for the H1N1 virus. |
UPDATE, Monday, Nov. 2: Due to a shortage of H1N1 vaccine across Canada, there are restrictions as to who can get immunized first: pregnant women, aboriginal people, health-care workers and children between the ages of six months and 59 months. On Friday, Nov. 30, the province learned it was only getting 12,000 doses for the week, far less than the 50,000 doses expected.
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Flu season is upon us and this year it’s packing an extra punch in the form of the H1N1 virus. Canadian health agencies expect cases to rise across the country, especially amongst younger people, whom the virus seems to target most heavily.
The majority of Dalhousie’s population is made up of the high-risk age group, 20 to 29, and Dal officials are working with the province to take precautions and prevent the spread of H1N1.
“Prevention is the top priority at Dalhousie,” said Susan Spence Wach, associate vice-president academic programs at a Q&A session Monday, Oct. 28, hosted by the university Senate and featuring members of the Communicable Illness Planning Committee.
Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to get vaccinated as the best method of preventing the spread of the virus. The vaccine is now available through your family doctor or at the Capital District Health Authority (CDHA) clinics around HRM. To view locations and times, visit: H1N1 and seasonal flu clinics.
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Pending the arrival of vaccine shipments from CDHA, Dalhousie Health Services will offer the vaccine to students and regular patients by appointment and at evening walk-in clinics.
As well, Dalhousie plans to run university-wide clinics in several locations—the Student Union Builing, the health professions student lounge, Sexton gymnasium and Health Services—once sufficient supplies of vaccine are available. Dates and times will be posted at flu.dal.ca and a reminder will be sent out to the Dalhousie community.
The Communicable Illness Planning Committee has been working closely with campus services, including residence assistants, to prepare and educate the Dalhousie community on preventing the spread of the virus. Hand sanitizers are up around campus, mobile sanitizers will soon be available for events, and students were given pocket-size containers in their welcome packs. Custodial staff has also received additional training for cleaning high risk areas.
Anyone exhibiting signs of influenza-like symptoms is encouraged to stay home. See the decision chart at the flu website for information on when to consult a health professional.
“The university’s academic regulations have recently been amended so that a sick note is not required from those absent due to influenza-like symptoms, however, students are asked to contact their professors to report their absence so that suspected cases can be reported to the administration,” said Ms. Spence Wach. “All information will be kept private and confidential.”
Likewise, faculty and staff will not require sick notes for absences due to influenza-like symptoms. They are also asked to contact Human Resources for reporting purposes so that any unusually high number of absences can be monitored.
Students, faculty and staff are urged to create contingency plans in case they experience extended absence: students should identify classmates to send them class notes and assignments; faculty should arrange for backup lecturers or online resources; staff should arrange for people to cover for them as best possible.
The Communicable Illness Planning Committee will continue to meet weekly and information on prevention, care and the university’s efforts can be found at flu.dal.ca. Those interested in vaccination updates should also visit the website.
“Until the vaccine is available at Dalhousie, students, faculty and staff can go to public clinics to get vaccinated,” said Raymond Ilson, director of Dalhousie’s Environmental Health and Safety Office.