The opening of school, shorter days, and colder weather will be the least of people’s worries this fall. That honor goes to the H1N1 virus, also known as “swine flu,” the illness that claimed the lives of about 500 people in the United States and infected over 47,000 this past spring.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the deadly illness is airborne and can be spread by coughing or sneezing. It may cause fever, sneezes, sore throat, coughs, headaches, muscle or joint pains, and more serious problems for those with prevailing medical problems or factors such as pregnancy.
In Hudson County, hospitals and school officials are preparing not just for swine flu, but also for the regular seasonal flu. The difference between swine flu and seasonal flu is that swine flu is considered a pandemic, while seasonal flu occurs annually.
A vaccine will be available starting in October for swine flu, but will be administered first to medical staff and then to the most vulnerable populations. Those who are vaccinated will need to get shots twice, the second one to be administered a month after the first.
The CDC recommends the following get first preference on vaccinations based on the higher risk of contracting swine flu, including: children 6 months to 19 years old, pregnant women, those 50 years of age and older, anyone with certain chronic medical conditions, and those who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Hospitals will be receiving vaccines for the regular flu at the end of August and for swine flu starting in October.
There are six major hospitals in Hudson County: Bayonne Medical Center, Christ Hospital in Jersey City, Jersey City Medical Center, Hoboken University Medical Center, Meadowlands Medical Center in Secaucus, and Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen.
In New Jersey this year, there were 510 people hospitalized from swine flu and 17 deaths.
There was one reported death from the swine flu in Hudson County this year, a 79-year-old Bayonne woman who died in July at Bayonne Medical Center.
Tom Slater, a state Department of Health spokesperson, said state health officials are still discussing how vaccines will be distributed from the state level down to counties. County officials took part last week in a “flu summit” held by his department in New Brunswick.
The general public will get their vaccines at community clinics and at private doctor’s offices. Slater said other vaccination locations being considered are schools and major drugstores such as Walgreens.
Hospital staff polled
Local hospitals and other institutions are doing their part to be prepared for a flu patient surge and to prevent any outbreaks.
Christ Hospital, with a staff of 1,200 full-time workers, is currently developing an H1N1 Information Hotline with a recorded message that will offer preventative information and allow the public to leave questions or concerns.
510 people were hospitalized and 17 died from swine flu in New Jersey.
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Local schools
John Fauta, assistant superintendent for the West New York School District, said the 7,200-student district has set up “sick rooms,” separate classrooms in the each of the schools in the district for students who come to school with potential swine-flu or any flu-like symptoms.
They will be quarantined away from the regular population until their parent(s) can take them home.
Jersey City School District spokesperson Paula Christen said the 29,000-student school district has some “new initiatives” that will be implemented but they have not been finalized. Christen also said the district has infectious diseases nurses in each of the schools to tally how many students suffer from any kind of flu.
For more information on the swine flu in New Jersey, visit the website: http://www.state.nj.us/health/flu/h1n1.shtml.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.