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Flu Season is Starting. Get Ready Now!

October 1, 2009 12:00 PM ET

• Visit www.flu.gov/professional/federal/workplace/index.html to customize a Microsoft Word version of this letter and to view more flu information to share with employees.
• Consider customizing this letter by using your agency’s stationery or e-mail template and inserting a name and contact information of someone that employees can reach for flu questions

The flu season is starting and will last through the fall and winter. Both 2009 H1N1 flu and seasonal flu are expected to circulate, causing illness. More than one kind of flu virus will be spreading this season, including seasonal flu and the 2009 H1N1 flu. If you get the flu, you can get sick and spread the flu to others at home, at work, and in the community. Symptoms of flu can include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Some people may also have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1, and have respiratory symptoms without a fever.

If you feel you are getting sick at work, contact your supervisor to get approval for leave. Once approved, you should go home and rest. Stay at home until at least 24 hours after your fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) is gone except to get medical care or for other things you have to do and no one else can do for you. This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medicines, such as Tylenol®, which are any medicines that contain ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

If you feel ill at work, you are encouraged to request leave from your supervisor. Once approved, you should go home and rest.

Also remember to cover your coughs and sneezes and wash your hands often with soap and water (especially after coughing or sneezing). If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub. If flu season conditions become more severe, we will take additional steps to avoid spreading the flu virus in the workplace.

You need to be prepared as well.

• Review your agency’s pandemic response plan. [provide information on how/where to do this]
• Get the vaccine for seasonal flu as recommended.  For more information, please see http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm. [insert information about vaccination clinics at the workplace or other ways your agency can support getting vaccinated for seasonal flu]
• Get the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine when it becomes available if you are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 flu complications. People at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 flu complications include pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes). For more information about priority groups for vaccination, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm.
• Make plans to be prepared to care for sick household members or for children if schools dismiss students or child care programs close.
• Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home. Have the following items on hand: a supply of fever-reducing medicines that contain acetaminophen or ibuprofen, alcohol-based hand rubs, tissues, and other items that may be useful and help you avoid the need to make trips out in public while you are sick. 
• Learn about the flu and what you can do. To find out more about preparing for the flu, go to www.flu.gov call 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636).

If you have any questions about policies or action steps we can take, please contact your supervisor or your human resources office.

By working together, we can protect our workforce while having a productive fall and winter.