We start this workweek with a lot of sick people among us.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the 2008 flu season arrived late and strong. Flu strains that weren't stopped by this year's vaccinations are closing schools, filling doctor's offices and making nursing homes nervous. In some cities, hospitals are restricting patient visitation.
Reuters reports:
The influenza vaccine given to Americans may
not protect as well as expected, U.S. health officials said on Friday
as the number of flu cases increased nationwide.
The
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said slightly more than
half of the influenza virus strains reported to its surveillance system
are not good matches against the strains included in this flu season’s
vaccine.
The
number of states reporting widespread flu activity jumped to 31 this
week compared with 11 a week ago, the CDC said. But Dr. Joe Bresee of
the CDC’s influenza division said there are no indications this flu
season is worse than usual. ...
The vaccine is designed to protect against
three influenza strains -- two from Type A, an H1N1 and an H3N2 version,
and one for Type B.
Bresee said about 30 percent of the overall strains of influenza in the United
States may be a Type A strain that emerged in Australia called H3N2
A/Brisbane. It emerged too late to be included in the flu vaccine
offered in the United States beginning in September and October.
Reuters also reported recently that the main seasonal flu in the U.S. and Canada
shows increased resistance to the antiviral drug Tamiflu. The World Health Organization even is wondering if Tamiflu could provide enough protection against a pandemic such as bird flu.
Should You Stay Home?Employers, of course, say if you are sick you should stay home. But in these uncertain economic times, I wonder if workers worry that they might lose their job if they stay home. Could they be seen as less loyal if they stay home? And what are the office policies for when it is not the employee but their kids who are sick?
According to a 2000 article in Time magazine:
Every day, according to the Work & Family Connection, a
news-and-information clearinghouse in Minnetonka, Minn., some 500,000
American children are sick enough to stay home from school or day care.
While some of those kids are seriously ill, a fairly large percentage
simply need to be isolated to prevent the spread of minor illnesses
such as pinkeye and chicken pox. Or they need one more fever-free day
after a bout of flu or strep throat before returning to school or day
care. "In a perfect world, you wouldn't give it a thought. You'd stay
home," says Gail Johnson, immediate past president of the
National
Association for Sick Child Daycare. "But in the real world, when you
went back to work, you might not have a job."
said about half of the full-time American workforce doesn't have paid sick days,
according to the Department of Labor:
Part-time employees and those in
lower-wage service and blue-collar jobs are the least likely to have
paid sick days.
Flu outbreaks are just awful for schools. Attendance can factor into school funding. Illnesses among teachers stretch the already thin ranks of qualified substitute teachers. We are approaching the standardized test season as well. If kids miss the tests, it creates a headache for the schools that must schedule makeups.
Tamiflu, the default drug to treat viruses, was developed from...
