September is National Preparedness Month

As the summer winds down, it’s inevitable that leaves will fall, football fans will cheer and the seasonal flu will begin to spread. Having a plan at home as well as at work to help stop the spread of the virus will be one of the best ways to keep people well this fall and winter. September is National Preparedness month and a great time to consider the steps to take to prevent the spread of the flu and how to keep your business operating when people are out sick.

Prevention is one of the best ways to control the spread of a virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends getting a seasonal flu vaccination every year to help prevent the spread of seasonal flu. This year, with novel influenza A (H1N1) circulating at the same time, more precautions will need to be taken. The amount of available H1N1 vaccine may be limited and the CDC suggests that the following high-risk people should consider getting the vaccine:

• pregnant women
• children and young adults six months to 24 years of age
• people caring for infants
• people 25 to 64 with chronic illnesses
• health care professionals

In addition to vaccinations, the CDC along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recommends the following to help keep people well during flu season:

• Avoid close contact with sick people. If you are sick, keep your distance from others so they don’t get sick
• Stay home when you have flu symptoms. Don’t return to work or school until your fever has been gone for 24 hours
• Cover your mouth and nose with your sleeve or a tissue when your cough or sneeze
• Wash your hands often
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth

Staying home when you or your child has flu symptoms means missed days of work. The CDC in conjunction with DHS has devised a continuity plan for businesses during the upcoming flu season:

• Allow sick employees to stay home without fear of losing their jobs
• Develop a flexible leave policy to allow employees to stay home to care for sick family members, or to watch their children if schools or childcare facilities close
• Explore whether teleworking is possible for you and your company. Make sure technology and infrastructure needed to support workers off site is in place
• Plan for how your business will operate if there is increasing absenteeism
• Make sure business knowledge has been transferred to key employees
• Establish a process to communicate information to workers who may be hearing rumors or misinformation regarding the seasonal flu or H1N1

Do your part to stay well and to keep from spreading the virus. Stay informed with the latest information on seasonal flu and H1N1 by logging onto georgiahealthinfo.gov, dch.ga.gov, cdc.gov/fl and cdc.gov/h1n1flu.