It’s that Time Again

It seems like every week or so we are learning of a new way to get very sick and, well, die.  It’s not always pleasant to read the news but, even in the wake of all these new viruses, there are some old ones that command respect.

The one that immediately comes to mind is the Flu.  It is boring in comparison to Monkeypox and it doesn’t kill as many people as Covid but really, how important is it to you that your virus is interesting?  Do you care how many other people are dying when you are on life support?  

Last year, the flu wasn’t as much of a threat as it has been (and will be)..  Everyone stayed home and wore masks.  Smart people did not hang out in crowded places and N95s became available.  Jeff Bezos and delivery companies made a ton of money but I don’t begrudge them considering the alternative would have been a higher risk of contracting Covid.

Compare last year’s isolation to this year.  School’s are well populated judging by the long lines of traffic when school lets out.  People are going out again to shop and eat and visit.  The President has erroneously declared an end to the Covid Pandemic and the CDC has revoked its advice that people in healthcare facilities should wear masks.  Please note that the CDC did not prohibit masks in healthcare facilities although the department of motor vehicles might take exception if you don’t remove your mask when you take a picture when you renew your license.

So the flu is a real threat this year.  If you have never had a case of the flu, consider yourself lucky.  Death is an attractive alternative when fevers reach 104 and every muscle in your body aches.  Furthermore, the flu is contagious before symptoms appear.  That means you can go out to several family homes and give them the gift of flu before you even know you have it.  

When a nurse is out with the flu, it isn’t for a day or two.  There are no badges of honor for going to work sick with the flu.  All of the uninfected nurses have to pick up the slack (and overtime).  And flu season peaks in winter when it already takes extra time to visit patients.  Roads may be icy and the holidays and end of year tasks cause everyone to get behind.

And that’s what the flu is like for us.  Imagine the patients!

In the 2019 – 2020 flu season, the last year for which data was collected, 38M people were sick with the flu resulting in 400,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 people died from the flu or flu related complications.  The virus that causes the flu is quite adaptable and mutates often to get around immunity.  Because of the ever changing nature of the influenza virus, the flu statistics vary each year.  

The vaccine is mostly free but even if you pay out of pocket, it is cheap.  If you are an agency that doesn’t pay for your employees to get flu shots, I want you to remember this when you’re writing those overtime checks. There is no charge to Medicare patients and that includes those receiving hospice care.  Home Health and Hospice can bill Medicare although many agencies choose not to bill.  You may also administer the flu vaccine to spouses and other Medicare recipients who live in the house.  For billing purposes, there is no physician order needed.  Get an order anyway.  

With one exception, the flu vaccine is unable to cause the flu.  The exception is the nasal inhaler vaccine which does contain minute quantities of the live virus so there is a similarly small chance that it could give the flu to the recipient.  All other vaccines do not contain live virus particles. Because it takes a while for the vaccine to offer full protection, it is possible to get the flu in the week or so after the vaccine which is a good reason to get your flu shots early.  And it is possible to contract the flu after being vaccinated but these cases do not cause as many hospitalizations and deaths.

Finally, the CDC has a boatload of resource materials that you can use as teaching guides or even wallpaper.  Midway down the CDC Resource page are infographics and fact sheets.  The CDC receives billions in funding.  Make use of it. You don’t want to be known as the nurse or therapist who wasted billions of dollars and current CDC information will support any complaints about you or your agency.  

If misery could be contained in buckets, each case of the flu would fill ten or so home depot buckets.  Think about that and prevent some misery. 

It seems like every week or so we are learning of a new way to get very sick and, well, die.  It’s not always pleasant to read the news but, even in the wake of all these new viruses, there are some old ones that command respect.

The one that immediately comes to mind is the Flu.  It is boring in comparison to Monkeypox and it doesn’t kill as many people as Covid but really, how important is it to you that your virus is interesting?  Do you care how many other people are dying when you are on life support?  

Last year, the flu wasn’t as much of a threat as it has been (and will be)..  Everyone stayed home and wore masks.  Smart people did not hang out in crowded places and N95s became available.  Jeff Bezos and delivery companies made a ton of money but I don’t begrudge them considering the alternative would have been a higher risk of contracting Covid.

Compare last year’s isolation to this year.  School’s are well populated judging by the long lines of traffic when school lets out.  People are going out again to shop and eat and visit.  The President has erroneously declared an end to the Covid Pandemic and the CDC has revoked its advice that people in healthcare facilities should wear masks.  Please note that the CDC did not prohibit masks in healthcare facilities although the department of motor vehicles might take exception if you don’t remove your mask when you take a picture when you renew your license.

So the flu is a real threat this year.  If you have never had a case of the flu, consider yourself lucky.  Death is an attractive alternative when fevers reach 104 and every muscle in your body aches.  Furthermore, the flu is contagious before symptoms appear.  That means you can go out to several family homes and give them the gift of flu before you even know you have it.  

When a nurse is out with the flu, it isn’t for a day or two.  There are no badges of honor for going to work sick with the flu.  All of the uninfected nurses have to pick up the slack (and overtime).  And flu season peaks in winter when it already takes extra time to visit patients.  Roads may be icy and the holidays and end of year tasks cause everyone to get behind.

And that’s what the flu is like for us.  Imagine the patients!

In the 2019 – 2020 flu season, the last year for which data was collected, 38M people were sick with the flu.  The flu caused 400,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 people died from the flu or flu related complications.  The virus that causes the flu is quite adaptable and mutates often to get around immunity.  Because of the ever changing nature of the influenza virus, the flu statistics vary each year.  

The side effects of the vaccine are generally mild unless the recipient of the vaccine is allergic to eggs. For the majority of people any mild side effects can be treated with tylenol or ibuprofen.  It is mostly free but even if you pay out of pocket, it is cheap.  There is no charge to Medicare patients and that includes those receiving hospice care.  Home Health can bill Medicare although many agencies choose not to bill.  You may also administer the flu vaccine to spouses and other Medicare recipients who live in the house.  For billing purposes, there is no physician order needed.  Get an order anyway.  

With one exception, the flu vaccine is unable to cause the flu.  The exception is the nasal inhaler vaccine which does contain minute quantities of the live virus so there is a similarly small chance that it could give the flu to the recipient.  Because it takes a while for the vaccine to offer full protection, it is possible to get the flu in the week or so after the vaccine which is a good reason to get your flu shots early.  And it is possible to contract the flu after being vaccinated but these cases do not cause as many hospitalizations and deaths.

Finally, the CDC has a boatload of resource materials that you can use as teaching guides or even wallpaper.  Midway down the CDC Resource page are infographics and fact sheets.  The CDC receives billions in funding.  Make use of it. It would be a shame to waste billions of dollars and current CDC information will support any complaints about you or your agency.  

If misery could be contained in buckets, each case of the flu would fill ten or so home depot buckets.  Think about that and prevent some misery. 

It seems like every week or so we are learning of a new way to get very sick and, well, die.  It’s not always pleasant to read the news but, even in the wake of all these new viruses, there are some old ones that command respect.

The one that immediately comes to mind is the Flu.  It is boring in comparison to Monkeypox and it doesn’t kill as many people as Covid but really, how important is it to you that your virus is interesting?  Do you care how many other people are dying when you are on life support?  

Last year, the flu wasn’t as much of a threat as it has been (and will be)..  Everyone stayed home and wore masks.  Smart people did not hang out in crowded places and N95s became available.  Jeff Bezos and delivery companies made a ton of money but I don’t begrudge them considering the alternative would have been a higher risk of contracting Covid.

Compare last year’s isolation to this year.  School’s are well populated judging by the long lines of traffic when school lets out.  People are going out again to shop and eat and visit.  The President has erroneously declared an end to the Covid Pandemic and the CDC has revoked its advice that people in healthcare facilities should wear masks.  Please note that the CDC did not prohibit masks in healthcare facilities although the department of motor vehicles might take exception if you don’t remove your mask when you take a picture when you renew your license.

So the flu is a real threat this year.  If you have never had a case of the flu, consider yourself lucky.  Death is an attractive alternative when fevers reach 104 and every muscle in your body aches.  Furthermore, the flu is contagious before symptoms appear.  That means you can go out to several family homes and give them the gift of flu before you even know you have it.  

When a nurse is out with the flu, it isn’t for a day or two.  There are no badges of honor for going to work sick with the flu.  All of the uninfected nurses have to pick up the slack (and overtime).  And flu season peaks in winter when it already takes extra time to visit patients.  Roads may be icy and the holidays and end of year tasks cause everyone to get behind.

And that’s what the flu is like for us.  Imagine the patients!

In the 2019 – 2020 flu season, the last year for which data was collected, 38M people were sick with the flu.  The flu caused 400,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 people died from the flu or flu related complications.  The virus that causes the flu is quite adaptable and mutates often to get around immunity.  Because of the ever changing nature of the influenza virus, the flu statistics vary each year.  

The side effects of the vaccine are generally mild unless the recipient of the vaccine is allergic to eggs. For the majority of people any mild side effects can be treated with tylenol or ibuprofen.  It is mostly free but even if you pay out of pocket, it is cheap.  There is no charge to Medicare patients and that includes those receiving hospice care.  Home Health can bill Medicare although many agencies choose not to bill.  You may also administer the flu vaccine to spouses and other Medicare recipients who live in the house.  For billing purposes, there is no physician order needed.  Get an order anyway.  

With one exception, the flu vaccine is unable to cause the flu.  The exception is the nasal inhaler vaccine which does contain minute quantities of the live virus so there is a similarly small chance that it could give the flu to the recipient.  Because it takes a while for the vaccine to offer full protection, it is possible to get the flu in the week or so after the vaccine which is a good reason to get your flu shots early.  And it is possible to contract the flu after being vaccinated but these cases do not cause as many hospitalizations and deaths.

Finally, the CDC has a boatload of resource materials that you can use as teaching guides or even wallpaper.  Midway down the CDC Resource page are infographics and fact sheets.  The CDC receives billions in funding.  Make use of it. It would be a shame to waste billions of dollars and current CDC information will support any complaints about you or your agency.  

If misery could be contained in buckets, each case of the flu would fill ten or so home depot buckets.  Think about that and prevent some misery.