Preventing H1N1 Flu with the Vaccine
The H1N1 flu vaccine is in the final stages of development and is expected to be available in October 2009. The vaccine is especially recommended for high risk groups of people, which include hospice and palliative care patients and their caregivers. Health care workers, including hospice staff, are highly encouraged to get vaccinated as well.
In the event of a shortage of the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states the order in which people should be considered to get the vaccine, based on relative risk:
- Healthcare workers
- Pregnant women
- Anyone over 6 months of age with chronic medical conditions
- Healthy people aged 15 to 49
- Healthy children
- Healthy adults aged 50 to 64
- Healthy adults over 65
If there is no shortage of the vaccine, the order in which people are considered won't be as discriminative. Currently, recommendations are that adults have one H1N1 flu shot and children receive two shots to ensure immunity.
Will Hospice and Palliative Care Patients Be Eligible for the H1N1 Vaccine?
Most hospice and palliative patients would qualify for the H1N1 vaccine because of chronic medical conditions and weakened immunity. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), their recommendations allow flexibility at the local level to cover vulnerable populations so it's always important to check with your local health care provider to determine whether you are eligible and if the vaccine is right for you.
More About the H1N1 Flu Vaccine from Kristina Duda, RN, Guide to Cold & Flu.
Other Ways to Prevent H1N1 Flu
The easiest and most effective way to prevent H1N1 flu as well as every other kind of flu and cold virus is to frequently and thoroughly wash your hands. Hand to face contact is responsible for most cold and flu infections. Consider this scenario: a person in the early stages of H1N1 flu goes grocery shopping and coughs into her hands. Everything she touches from that point on -- the cart handle, the packages of food, even the money she uses to pay -- are all potentially contaminated with the virus. Now a caregiver of a hospice patient goes to the same store and uses the same shopping cart, touches some of the same food packages, and even receives the same money for change, contaminating her own hands with the H1N1 virus. The caregiver then goes home and spreads the H1N1 virus all over the kitchen with her contaminated hands and maybe even prepares dinner before washing them. Now the caregiver and the hospice patient are exposed and all that's left to do is get the virus inside the body, maybe through eating, unwrapping that piece of gum, or scratching that tickle at the end of the nose.
Frequently washing your hands or using alcohol-based sanitizer is the easiest way to kill the H1N1 and other flu and cold viruses before they can get into your system. When washing your hands, a quick rinse under cold water isn't going to cut it; it's important to use warm water with enough soap to create a lather and scrub your hands vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used as often as needed but it's still recommended to wash your hands with soap and water often.
Keeping your environment clean can also help prevent the spread of H1N1. Use a disinfectant on frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs, light switches, and sink faucets. I always recommend that patients keep an alcohol-based sanitizer by their bedside for visitors to use. And it's always OK to ask visitors who are visibly sick to reschedule their visit for another time when they are feeling better. Preventing a flu infection can ensure that you are able to visit with and enjoy company for as long as possible.
More H1N1 Flu Resources
Your Complete Guide to H1N1 (Swine) Flu - Compiled by Kristina Duda, RN, Guide to Cold & Flu, this is your complete resource for the H1N1 flu virus.
2009 H1N1 Flu Resource Guide from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
WHO Pandemic H1N1 Flu Resource Guide from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Sources:
2009 H1N1 Flu Vaccine Recommendations. Swine Flu 11 Sept 09. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
