H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Announcement

Updated

In response to the H1N1 pandemic declared by the World Health Organization, the School of Medicine is committed to keeping you up to date with the latest general pandemic and Tufts-specific information through multiple channels, including e-mail, the School of Medicine website, TUSK and posters.

New Temporary Sick Policy for Staff

H1N1 Cases Jump on Tufts Medford Campus

H1N1 Vaccine Update: Medford Health Services has a small number of inoculations available, which will be given to pregnant women across the three campuses. If you are pregnant and wish to receive a vaccine, you must be in touch with cecile.fagan@tufts.edu as soon as possible.

Additional vaccine has been ordered for all medical and dental students; students aged 24 and under; and immune compromised and pregnant students in all other health sciences programs. Once targeted populations have been immunized, the vaccine will be available to the general population. As you may have heard from media sources, production and distribution of the vaccine has been much slower than originally anticipated.

Vaccine may begin to arrive later in November into December. Advance notice of vaccine shipment will be only a few days. This means that our notice to you regarding clinic dates and times may be short. The Student Advisory & Health Administration Office will arrange for vaccine clinics through Tufts Medical Center Employee Health and the Greater Boston Visiting Nurses' Association. Clinics will be scheduled on both the Boston and Grafton Campuses.

If you are off-site and want to be vaccinated, you will need to make arrangements to take time off to come to campus. Otherwise, you will need to make arrangements through your PCP or go to one of the clinics arranged through the Boston Public Health Department or other local health department. Currently, they only have Seasonal flu vaccine available but please monitor the site since it is updated weekly: www.bphc.org/flu

If you have already received the Seasonal and/or H1N1 vaccine and would like for it to be posted in your immunization file, please fax it to Gianna Dimitrakos at 617-636-2708.

General Status: While the volume of influenza-like illness (ILI) at Tufts is increasing, our cooperative efforts are addressing the resulting challenges successfully. On the Boston campus, we are aware of some 20 cases of ILI among students. Accommodations for students who fall ill can be made through student affairs for MD students and administrative offices for PHPD and Sackler.

While the university hopes to have enough H1N1 vaccine to offer a clinic for faculty and staff in the CDC-prioritized categories, we suggest that individuals seek the vaccine through their health care providers. CDC-prioritized categories include health care workers, pregnant mothers, anyone 24 years of age or younger, and those with special health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and certain respiratory conditions.

More seasonal flu vaccine for students, faculty, and staff has been ordered, but there is no clear time frame as to when it will be received. Some local pharmacies still have seasonal flu vaccine available, and students and staff are encouraged to explore these resources. Seasonal flu usually does not hit until January and February.

Faculty, staff and students will receive regular updates on flu action information both specific to them and related to the school of medicine community, including:

Preventive measures you can take (see information below)
Vaccinations (see information below)
Time off policy/flexibility for those who become ill (page 39)
Information about how to work from home

Students and Staff

Medical Students (MD-track):
Medical Students can visit Employee Health Services on Proger 6N of Tufts Medical Center at any time without an appointment between 7:30 a.m. - 4:15 pm. to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Students must present their Tufts University ID to verify they are a Medical Student in order to receive the vaccine.

PHPD and Sackler Students:
PHPD and Sackler students who missed previous clinics should contact their health care provider or visit one of the private clinics listed on the sidebar.

School of Medicine Faculty and Staff:
Health Services will advertise additional staff and faculty clinics as they become available. If you would like to receive the vaccine earlier, please contact your health care provider or consider the options listed on the right side of this page.

Monitoring Your Health

A final reminder to everyone that a thermometer is an essential tool in monitoring your health. Please make sure you have a thermometer, and take your temperature if you are feeling ill. A temperature over 100 F might indicate influenza. In such cases, Medford/Somerville students should come to Health Service for evaluation. Students in Boston and Grafton, and faculty and staff, should consult their personal health care provider as needed. And please stay at home to recover until you've been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

Preventive Measures

Cooperation from the entire medical school with the following actions is critical to safeguarding our community. PLEASE:

Wash your hands frequently with soap and water
Use the hand sanitizer units located by elevators in all medical school buildings
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
Cough and sneeze into a tissue or the sleeve of your shirt
Stay home if you are ill

Students who experience flu-like symptoms should not go to class. Students on the Medford/Somerville campus may come to Tufts Health Services to be evaluated. Students in Boston and Grafton should contact their doctor with concerns about flu symptoms. Faculty and staff who are ill with flu should not come to work and should contact their primary care provider.

Public health authorities recommend that anyone ill with flu self-isolate until they have been fever free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication). People WITHOUT fever do not need to be concerned about having an influenza-like illness. See Tufts Health Advisory Brochure

We will continue to keep the university community informed of developments with respect to H1N1 and the vaccines for both H1N1 and seasonal flu. More information on the flu and our preparedness efforts is available at http://emergency.tufts.edu/flu Thank you for your collaboration as we respond to this public health challenge in the cooperative spirit that distinguishes Tufts.

H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Announcement

Students and Staff

Monitoring Your Health

Preventive Measures

University-Wide Updates

Free Flu Clinics

General H1N1 Updates

H1N1 Worldwide

Flu Shot Locations