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Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine now available
Staff and students of the University of the Sunshine Coast are advised that the free Panvax vaccine is now available at most doctors' surgeries and hospitals.
Information about this vaccine for Influenza A (H1N1) is available at the website of the Australian Government's Department of Health and Ageing.
Those who work in health care with patient contact have been encouraged to receive the vaccination as soon as possible. The same applies to those most at risk of severe outcomes from the influenza strain.
These include pregnant women, Indigenous Australians, parents and guardians of infants, community care workers, people who are severely obese, and people with underlying chronic conditions including heart disease, asthma and other lung diseases, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, neurological disease and other chronic conditions.
USC staff and students also are urged to remain vigilant with personal hygiene by taking the following precautions:
- Stay at home if you develop flu-like symptoms and consult your medical practitioner;
- Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, or use a disinfectant wipe or sanitiser gel (available outside bathrooms on campus);
- Always cough into a tissue and dispose of tissues quickly. Cover your cough with your arm or elbow rather than your hand;
- Use disinfectant wipes to clean surfaces like door handles, kitchen bench-tops, telephones and computer keyboards.
Further information about Influenza A (H1N1) is available from the World Health Organisation at: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html
From the Australian Government website at:
http://www.healthemergency.gov.au/internet/healthemergency/publishing.nsf
/Content/health-swine_influenza-index.htm
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/panflu/publishing.nsf/Content/fluandyou-broch-1
From the Queensland Government website at:
http://www.health.qld.gov.au/swineflu/