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Flu Symptoms Symptoms of the H1N1 “swine” flu include fever, body aches, nausea, runny nose and coughing. If you are experiencing mild symptoms, you should stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them. Influenza is thought to spread mainly through the coughing or sneezing of infected people. Boulder Community Hospital encourages everyone to use soap and water or a waterless hand hygiene solution to wash hands frequently; keep hands away from nose, eyes and mouth; and cough away from others and into a disposable tissue. If you cough or sneeze into your hands, make sure to wash them. H1N1 Vaccine Right now there is a shortage of H1N1 vaccine due to a manufacturing problem. This is a national problem that affects every part of the country. Some clinics in Boulder County have received initial shipments of vaccine, but it was less than had been expected. As hospital clinics receive H1N1 vaccine, we will distribute it using guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control that designate specific priority groups to be the first to receive H1N1 vaccine. Those priority groups are: Pregnant women Children ages 6 months up to 4 years Children ages 5 though 18 who have a documented chronic health condition, such as severe asthma, diabetes, congenital heart disease or abnormal immune function Caregivers for infants less than 6 months old
Because of the current shortage of H1N1 vaccine, hospital clinics will initially vaccinate their own current patients who fit into these priority groups. Appropriate patients will be contacted by the clinics. In the near future, we expect to get more vaccine and we also expect the guidelines for who can be vaccinated to expand. At that point, we will be able to help a wider range of our current patients. Federal authorities have not yet announced when more vaccine will be available. We expect to eventually provide vaccinations for the public. The timeframe for public vaccinations will depend on the available supply of H1N1 vaccine. Federal authorities have not yet published a long-range schedule for deliveries of vaccine. The Boulder County Public Health Department is planning to hold public clinics to provide H1N1 vaccinations to Boulder County residents. The schedule for such clinics will depend on the availability of H1N1 vaccine. You can sign up for email updates about H1N1 on the Boulder County Public Health Department website -- www.bouldercounty.org/health/h1n1/home.htm. Current Visitor Restrictions To safeguard our patients during the flu outbreak, the hospital implemented the following visitor restrictions effective Friday, October 16: This applies to both Boulder Community Hospital and Foothills Hospital. In order to protect our new families, the Family Birth Center, which includes Labor & Delivery, Mom/Baby and the Special Care Nursery, has implemented separate restrictions: The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has recommended that all hospitals and other acute care facilities implement some level of visitor restriction until the current wave of H1N1 influenza activity has subsided. Resources Local citizens can receive up-to-date H1N1 news from Boulder County Public Health via email. Sign up for these emails at http://www.bouldercounty.org/health/h1n1/home.htm Here are additional resources for obtaining up-to-date information. Important Flu Facts Staying Healthy Flu-related Videos When a Family Member is Sick Boulder County Information Colorado Information National Information International Information En Espanol Return to top
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