Recently, my legislative colleagues and I met with the state’s Commissioner of Public Health, John Auerbach, to ensure that all the necessary steps were being taken to prepare for the upcoming flu season.All of us here in the Commonwealth will need to mobilize to slow the spread of flu and flu-related illness in the weeks and months ahead.

As I’m sure you’re aware, Massachusetts and every other state in the nation experienced an outbreak of a new kind of flu this spring called H1N1 influenza -- more commonly referred to as “swine flu”.   In the Commonwealth, almost 1,400 cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed.  Sixty-three percent of the confirmed cases have been in residents 18 years of age or younger, and the median age is 14 years old.

The spread of the flu during the spring and the significant impact on young people is very different from what we normally see with seasonal flu – the flu that we see in the fall and winter.  That flu is more likely to affect people who are older.  While H1N1 flu activity in Massachusetts dropped off during the summer, health experts expect that it will return during the fall and winter months.  Unfortunately, we will also have seasonal flu in our communities at the same time, so we need to prepare for a difficult flu season.

A great deal of planning has gone on at the federal, state and local levels to prepare for the upcoming flu season.  The federal government has focused on developing vaccines for both H1N1 and seasonal flu, and in prioritizing who should get vaccinated first.  This prioritization is based on which groups are most at risk of complications from getting each type of flu.  For example, older people appear to be at greater risk from seasonal flu, while young people and pregnant women tend to be at higher risk from the new H1N1 flu.  Our own Department of Public Health is working hard with a variety of state agencies including the Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the Department of Early and Secondary Education, along with health care and local public health partners to plan a large-scale vaccination campaign for both types of flu.

What you can do.

Get Vaccinated.
There will be two types of vaccine available this flu season; one for seasonal influenza and one for H1N1 flu.  Seasonal vaccine will be available sooner than H1N1 vaccine, so get your seasonal flu shot as soon as possible.   The H1N1 vaccine will be recommended for people at higher risk of serious illness from H1N1 flu.   While most people are recommended to get the seasonal flu vaccine, not everyone will be recommended to receive the H1N1 vaccine.

Wash your hands frequently.
Use warm soap and water to wash your hands often during the day, and make it a habit to carry alcohol based hand sanitizer for use when soap and water are not available.

Cover your coughs and sneezes.
Use a tissue or cough into your inner elbow or upper sleeve and not into your bare hands.

Stay home if you are sick.
Most people who are mildly ill with the flu do not need to go to the doctor’s office or hospital.  If you or your child is sick with the flu, stay home from work or school.  If you do need medical attention, call first so that your health care provider can make arrangements for your visit and minimize the chances that you’ll spread the flu to others.

Stay informed. 
There will likely be many questions this flu season; DPH and your local health department are good sources of trusted information to get answers.  For more information on the flu visit DPH’s web site at www.mass.gov/dph/flu or call (617) 983-6800.