Birdflu Mailing List: H1N1 flu notes to include in Sunday bulletins

[William Weir (wweir1]

Peter Raynor, PhD, is a member of First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis and
serves on the faculty of the School of Public Health, University of
Minnesota, specializing in Environmental Health Sciences.

>From the beginning of the FUS Committee on Emergency Preparedness as an ad
hoc task force four years ago (soon after hurricane Katrina) he has served
as an active member, most recently responding to our senior minister's
request for a set of inserts for our Sunday bulletins.

Rather than calling the new pandemic strain "swine flu" a term that has been
scaring some people away from eating pork, we much prefer calling it as does
CDC "novel H1N1"  or "nH1N1" or simply "H1N1."

Perhaps you can adapt these inserts for your congregation:

Rev. Bill Weir, Chair, Emergency Preparedness, FUS

*H1N1-related messages for rotation in FUS bulletin***

*By Pete Raynor, School of Public Health, U of MN, 10/09*

1. Help keep FUS flu-free!  The seasonal flu vaccine is widely available
now.  Please see your healthcare provider to get your seasonal flu shot now
and also your H1N1 vaccine as soon as it is available.  Medicare and
insurance normally pays (Bring your ID card!), but if getting the shots
would be a financial hardship, please tell Rev. Dr. Kendyl Gibbons or a
staff member so that FUS can help.

2. One thing we don't want to share as a community is the flu!  Please stay
home, get well, and help keep the rest of us at FUS well if you have flu
symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath,
chills, headache, extreme tiredness, or muscle/joint pain.


3. Like Mom said: "Wash your hands!"  One of the best ways to prevent the
spread of flu germs is to wash your hands with soap and water for 15-20
seconds, especially after shaking hands and before touching a cookie or
other food.  If using soap and water is not convenient and your hands are
not visibly dirty, using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer will work too.

4. Cover your cough!  Please pick up a tissue before getting seated at FUS.
If you cough or sneeze, please use the tissue if you have one at hand (or
your shirt sleeve if you don't).  After using a tissue, please put it in a
waste basket, and wash your hands with soap and water.