Oh, the dreaded flu! It is on the way again. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Flu activity in the U.S. is currently low, but flu season is approaching. Now is the time to get a flu vaccine.”
The CDC recommends that everyone six months and older get a flu vaccine by the end of October.
At The Mayflower Community (Grinnell IA), staff flu shots are being given today, September 25th. (See pleasant smile from one of our nurses, knowing how important is the flu shot!) The Mayflower policy is that a flu shot is mandatory for all employees, except in the case of a valid doctor’s excuse. We are always doing our best to keep the dastardly flu virus away from our campus.
UnityPoint Health—Grinnell Regional Public Health will be offering public vaccination clinics throughout Poweshiek County. The shot clinic at The Mayflower Community will be Thursday, October 17th, 9:00-11:00am in the Buckley Dining Room, 619 Park Street, Grinnell. To find other dates and times, check out the Public Health website
In addition, to the flu shot, at Mayflower we continue to emphasis liberal use of hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and most importantly, constant hand washing…the right way. According to Dr. Charles Gerba, an infectious microbes professor at the University of Arizona, here are hand-washing guidelines:
- Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap to a lather.
- Scrub all surfaces: palms, backs, fingers, between fingers, under nails.
- Scrub for 20 seconds (that’s the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice).
- Rinse under clean, running water, dry hands with clean towel or air dry.
- Oh, and ask those around you to do the same!
— Bob Mann, Sales & Marketing Director