Dear Faculty and Staff Members:
H1N1 flu infections are widespread on U.S. university campuses this fall, and Johns Hopkins is no exception. This is a good time to provide you with an update on the status of H1N1 at the university, remind you of precautions that can suppress the spread of the virus and advise you on what to do if you do become sick. I also want to remind you of the sick leave and other human resources-related policies that apply to H1N1, as well as to any other illnesses.
Our first presumed cases of H1N1 in the fall semester surfaced among students at the Homewood campus in early September. The number of new daily cases accelerated later in the month to as many as 21; the total of presumed student cases at Homewood now exceeds 120. Roughly a half-dozen student cases have been reported on the East Baltimore campus, none as of this writing at Peabody or SAIS.
Affected students have reported generally mild or moderate illnesses. This isn’t to say that they don’t feel pretty lousy for a few days; they do. But none so far has been so seriously ill as to require hospitalization. On average, their illnesses have lasted three to four days, followed by at least 24 hours without running a fever before they can return to normal activities. A fair number have experienced fever of 103 degrees F, or even higher, especially in the first few days they are ill. Other common symptoms include a cough, a sore throat, generalized body aches, significant low back pain and, for some, a headache and stiff neck.
It is much more difficult to track cases among the university’s faculty and staff, who receive care from many different practices, than it is among students. But it is certainly reasonable to guess that we already have seen H1N1 illness among employees and that we shall see much more in the coming weeks.
We already are vaccinating employees against seasonal flu; public health officials say it is still important to get this protection, since seasonal flu likely will surface more frequently as the weather turns cold. Announcements about vaccination sessions are being made at individual campuses; information is also available at
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hse/occupational_health/flu_campaign.html
We will offer employees the just-approved H1N1 vaccine as soon as it becomes available to us, probably late this year and probably in relatively small allotments at first. H1N1 vaccination sessions will also be publicized widely. The university will follow national and state guidelines about giving H1N1 vaccine first to certain priority or at-risk groups, such as patient care staff, pregnant women and people with certain chronic diseases.
Until we receive the vaccine, we are primarily focused on efforts to suppress the spread of the H1N1 virus through our campus community. Realistically, those efforts are going to be our best protection for most if not all of the fall semester. To that end, we have placed information and advice on our H1N1 Web site at http://flu.jhu.edu. We have circulated that same information through all-campus announcements, stories in campus publications, and Facebook and Twitter postings. We have papered our campuses with posters and flyers.
We’d also like to solicit your help. Here are important things you can do:
--Wash your hands frequently and cover your coughs and sneezes properly. The hygiene advice summarized at
http://web.jhu.edu/administration/flu/resources/cover_cough_8_5x11a.pdf
is proven to thwart the spread of flu virus.
--If you do become sick, stay home. The work ethic of Johns Hopkins employees is commendable, and we all are tempted to keep plugging away at our jobs even if we are feeling ill. But the truth is that you aren’t doing yourself, your co-workers or the university any favors by coming to campus when you have a fever and other flu symptoms.
--If you are sick, follow the advice at
http://web.jhu.edu/administration/flu/faq/ifyouaresick.html
In particular, don’t return to work until you have been without a fever for more than 24 hours, without the assistance of anti-fever medication. [A fever is defined as a temperature of 100 F (37.8 C) or higher or any sign of a fever such as chills, a warm feel to the touch, a flushed appearance or sweating.]
Here are some other important facts for you to know:
1. If you develop flu-like symptoms while at work, you may, if you wish, go to the Occupational Health offices at Wyman Park or East Baltimore or call them at 410-516-0450 or 410-955-6211.
2. Normal sick and vacation utilization policies apply to any absence due to H1N1. Employees unable to report to work as a result of personal or family illness are expected to cover those absences with vacation or sick leave. Any employee without leave accrued will be allowed time off without pay.
3. Managers and supervisors are expected to be flexible with the use of work-at-home options, sick leave and vacation when employees must stay home with sick children or other family members. Absences related to an employee’s own H1N1 illness or the care of a family member with H1N1 will not count against the employee in areas where there are strict or no-fault attendance policies.
4. As is always the case, any employee who abuses sick leave by falsifying reasons for an absence may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
5. Employees who work in residence halls or other environments where sick students may be should exercise diligence in maintaining proper hygiene, especially frequent hand washing.
6. As is the case with other diseases, including seasonal flu, the university will not notify individual work groups when co-workers become ill with presumed H1N1. The only precaution needed is to follow good hygiene, including frequent hand washing, as all of us should already be doing.
I urge everyone to pay careful attention to the advice in this message and to save it for future reference. Remember: Every time you wash your hands, you may be preventing an illness -- either yours or someone else’s.
Sincerely,
Charlene Moore Hayes
Vice President for Human Resources
