Health Alerts

As the New York Times and other news outlets have reported, the H1N1 pandemic so far has been less severe than many had feared.

That said, some experts believe that the winter months may bring an additional, more serious outbreak of H1N1 flu. Furthermore, as reported in the Boston Globe, studies suggest that H1N1 flu can be devastating to “patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other respiratory conditions.”

Your Health Alerts team encourages all Yeshiva University community members to be inoculated against H1N1 influenza.

The Google flu shot finder can help you locate clinics and retail outlets offering the H1N1 and seasonal flu shots. Injectable H1N1 vaccines are available at our campus health centers (Beren: 212.340.7792; Wilf, 646.685.0391).

According to a December 31, 2009 communiqué from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene:

We are just now entering what are usually the peak months for influenza transmission, so the Health Department urges you to immunize all patients who want protection against the H1N1 virus. There are no restrictions on who can receive H1N1 vaccine. Please remember that children from 6 months to 10 years of age need 2 doses of the H1N1 vaccine (a minimum of 21 days apart) to be fully protected.

Our colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have made a superb video—amusing and informative—about staying well while travelling.

Dr. Howard M. Heller, MD, MPH, Chief of Medicine at MIT Medical, discusses common myths about airplane travel, safe and unsafe ways to eat, hand and cough hygiene and more.

Enjoy, and if the holidays find you on the road: Bon voyage!

Dear students:

We would like to remind you that the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines are now available at both the Beren Campus and the Wilf Campus Student Health Center.

At the present time, we have both the intra-nasal and injectable vaccines on campus and can accommodate both special needs and the general student population.

If you have not yet done so, please drop by the Health Centers during their regular hours for your vaccinations.

Beren Campus Student Health Center
Brookdale Residence Hall, 2nd Floor
Monday – Thursday: 8:30 am – noon and 1:00 – 4:30 pm
Friday: 8:30 am – noon and 1:00 – 2:30 pm

Wilf Campus Student Health Center
116 Laurel Hill Terrace (corner of 187th street)
Monday – Thursday: 8:30 am – noon and 1:00 – 4:30 pm
Friday: 8:30 am – noon and 1:00 – 2:30 pm

There is a fee of $5 for the H1N1 vaccine and $18 for the seasonal flu vaccine.

If you have a specific medical condition that might impact your decision to be vaccinated, please speak to your primary care physician. If there are any questions, please contact your Health Center (Beren Campus: 212.340.7792; Wilf Campus: 646.685.0391).

Wishing everyone a Happy Hanukkah,

Chaim Nissel, Psy.D.
Associate Dean of Students for Health Affairs
Director of Counseling Center
Yeshiva University

The New York Times reports on research suggesting that loneliness is contagious and may cause a “cascade of loneliness” within a social network.

The article quotes Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis of Harvard Medical School about the importance of paying attention to people who are socially isolated:

When we pay attention to the experiences of those at the periphery, when we make an effort to prevent this sad experience of loneliness, then we can stabilize the whole social network… We all benefit when we attend to the needs of those at the margins.

There is a risk of loneliness and isolation in any community—all the more so in a hectic metropolitan area like New York, and at a university like our own that prides itself on a challenging academic environment.

So, what can you do today, right now, to reach out to people who might be feeling lonely? How about inviting them for coffee, asking them along to an event or just dropping by to say a quick “hello”?

Time offers additional coverage and also reports on the happiness effect—the idea that positive emotions and behaviors can spread up to three degrees of separation away.

With midterms and holiday preparations fast upon us, anxiety is on the rise.

The New York Times reports good news in the fight against anxiety:

Researchers at Princeton University recently made a remarkable discovery about the brains of rats that exercise. Some of their neurons respond differently to stress than the neurons of slothful rats.

“It looks more and more like the positive stress of exercise prepares cells and structures and pathways within the brain so that they’re more equipped to handle stress in other forms,” says one scientist quoted by the Times.

Read the Times article for all the details, and take note: Exercise over time (for six weeks or more) appears to offer the most dramatic benefits, and aerobic activity (including swimming, jogging and cycling) seems to be key.

Best of luck with midterms and a Happy Thanksgiving to all!

On Tuesday, November 24 at 6:00 pm, Mr. Michael Congo of the New York City Department of Health will speak at an information session about swine flu awareness. The event will take place at 245 Lexington Avenue, Room 101.

At the Department of Health, Mr. Congo is the Community Affairs Coordinator and Influenza Health Educator.

A dessert reception will follow the session, and attendees will be able to enter a drawing to win one of ten free manicures.

The event is sponsored by the Biology Club, the Chemistry Club, the Pharmacology Club, SCWSC and Sy Syms School of Business.

The New York Times reports today that swine flu clinics in New York City will be opened to a broader group of people this weekend:

People 25 to 64 who have underlying health problems, like diabetes, asthma or chronic heart and lung conditions, and caretakers of infants less than 6 months old will be eligible for the clinics in New York City.

Please follow the links in the article for further information. The vaccinations are free and were previously offered to pregnant women and people 4 to 24. According to an official quoted in the article, “Nobody will be turned away.”

With demand for H1N1 and seasonal flu shots exceeding supply in some areas, Google has just launched what looks to be a useful tool: Flu Shot Finder.

Enter your address, and Google Maps will show you the location, telephone number and hours of nearby clinics, medical practices and businesses offering seasonal flu shots, H1N1 flu shots or both.

(You can nudge recalcitrant friends and loved ones using this tool, too.)

As always, caveat emptor: Be sure to call ahead to confirm availability, pricing and policies.

If you use the Flu Shot Finder, we would love to hear how it works out for you.

Dear Students,

While New York City and our campuses have had few cases of flu this fall, we have recently been noting a small increase in the number of cases.

I would like to remind all of you to continue with flu prevention and management practices as outlined at this site.

Also, we still have H1N1 nasal and injectable vaccine available for undergraduate students at our student health services (on the Beren Campus, on the second floor of Brookdale Hall; and on the Wilf Campus, at 116 Laurel Hill Terrace). Immunization is available on a walk-in basis whenever the offices are open.

Please make sure to bring your YU ID card when you come for immunization. There is a $5 fee for immunization to cover administrative expenses.

Wishing everyone continued success in midterms and a healthy semester,

Victor Schwartz, M.D.
University Dean of Students

I Can Has Cheezburger? (always useful for mental health breaks) shows us a kitty committed to staying well. Are you washing up often and using hand sanitizer?

By the way, the New York Times has a report on a cat from Aimes, Iowa, who contracted the H1N1 virus from its human family. (The cat was treated and recovered.)

Remember, then, that by obtaining the H1N1 vaccine, washing your hands and practicing good respiratory hygiene, you are protecting friends and loved ones of both the two-legged and the four-legged variety.

Stay well and keep smiling!

Dear students,

We are pleased to announce that the H1N1 (swine flu) nasal vaccine is now available at the Student Health Centers on both the Beren and the Wilf Campuses. All students are encouraged to obtain this vaccine, even if one has a presumption of having had swine flu.

If you had a confirmed diagnosis of swine flu, then you should not be vaccinated.

Please note the specific hours and locations:

Beren Campus Student Health Center
Brookdale Residence Hall, Second Floor
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 10 a.m. to noon

Wilf Campus Student Health Center
116 Laurel Hill Terrace (near 187th Street)
Monday and Wednesday, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to noon

There is a $5 charge for the vaccine, payable at the Health Center.

If you have a specific medical condition that might impact your decision to be vaccinated, please speak to your primary care physician. For other questions, please contact your Health Center (Beren: 212.340.7792; Wilf, 646.685.0391).

Thank you. Wishing everyone a healthy semester,

Chaim Nissel, Psy.D.
Associate Dean of Students for Health Affairs
Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University’s Human Resources professionals have developed A Manager’s Guide to Preparing and Managing During the Flu Season.

The guide is designed to help YU managers “in preparing for this year’s flu season and the potential spread of H1N1 flu virus, by asking you to consider business and staffing operations, and develop contingency plans for dealing with operational or staffing emergencies.”

For more information from Human Resources, please contact a professional listed in H1N1 Related Resources for Employees (PDF).

And for up-to-date information on H1N1, please visit the HR Updates screen.

The flu vaccine (to protect against the seasonal flu) is now available and recommended for all students.

On the Wilf Campus, the vaccine is available on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:30 to 4:00 PM. The fee is $18 (cash or check) due at the time of service.

A separate vaccination for the H1N1 virus (swine flu) will be arriving on campus shortly, and students will be informed of its availability promptly.

If you have any questions, please contact the Student Health Center at 646.685.0391. The Health Center is located at 116 Laurel Hill Terrace, near 187th Street.

Information for the Beren Campus will follow shortly.

Wishing you a successful and healthy semester,

Chaim Nissel, Psy.D.
Director
Yeshiva University Counseling Center

Belinda Ostrowsky, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of medicine, division of infectious diseases, at Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an infectious disease specialist at Montefiore Medical Center, discusses treatment for seasonal and H1N1 flu.

Einstein offers a range of useful, up-to-date resources on H1N1 and seasonal flu. We encourage you to bookmark the site and check it often.

We are proud to announce that RNCentral (an informational site for nursing students and professionals) has chosen this humble blog as one of fifty excellent public health blogs.

Naturally, we are delighted to find ourselves in the company of the Wall Street Journal, the Harvard School of Public Health and other outstanding organizations, and we also want Health Alerts to be an even better resource for you.

How can we improve? What kinds of news, information and features would you like to read here at Health Alerts? Please leave a comment or contact Dr. Chaim Nissel directly at the e-mail address shown in the right sidebar.

Two recent articles from the New York Times offer up-to-date information on seasonal and H1N1 flu.

The first covers “answers to some commonly asked questions about the new flu virus, regular seasonal flu and the two flu vaccines intended to prevent them both.”

The second suggests that the second wave of H1N1 flu may possibly be less extensive than expected in New York and other cities that were hit hard in the spring.

That said, as one flu expert quoted in the second article notes: “To say, ‘Oh, all of us in New York are immune, we won’t have any more disease and we don’t need to take [the] vaccine, is a dangerous conclusion to draw.’”

Here, as always, we encourage you to confer with your family doctor and abide by his or her specific recommendations for you and your family.

“Bodily health and wellbeing are part of the path to G-d, for it is impossible to understand or have any knowledge of the Creator when one is sick. Therefore one must avoid anything that may harm the body and one must cultivate healthful habits.”
The Rambam

How will you act on Maimonides’ wisdom in 5770? We encourage you to start with simple, manageable steps: An extra apple or orange a day, a swim or brisk walk several times a week, a stroll around the block and some nice, deep breaths of fresh air to decompress after work or study.

If you can, consider involving friends and loved ones, too, and always seek your physician’s advice.

Wishing you an easy fast! G’mar chatimah tovah.

Your Health Alerts team is pleased to see that swanky New York Magazine has picked up on something that we were promoting on campus flatscreens months ago—the health and environmental benefits of taking the stairs.

Read the article, “Step It Up,” and take a moment to visit the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website, where you can learn more about becoming “leaner and greener” and also download a poster for your office or dorm.

Here at Health Alerts, you have read about measures you can take to prevent H1N1 and seasonal flu, including hand washing and coughing and sneezing into your elbow.

We encourage you to keep in mind, as well, the following “oldies but goodies.” These common-sense steps can help protect you against H1N1, seasonal flu and many other ailments.

Every day, make it a priority to:

• Get enough sleep

• Relax and de-stress

• Exercise

• Drink plenty of water

• Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables

Keep well!

A message from Dr. Chaim Nissel, Associate Dean of Students for Health Affairs and Director of the Counseling Center:

We again look forward to offering staff and faculty moderately priced seasonal flu shots on each of the Manhattan campuses (Beren, Brookdale, and Wilf).

This year, rather than bringing staff and faculty to our student health centers, we anticipate making the flu innoculations available at various campus locations, during specific time slots.

More information will follow in October, and we appreciate your patience as we make these arrangements on your behalf.

Regarding the H1N1 (swine flu) shot, which is expected sometime in October, we recommend that staff and faculty follow up with their individual medical providers and receive it directly from them, if deemed appropriate.

Please continue to make use of the newly installed Purell dispensers around campus and continue to practice good hand hygiene. This blog will have our most up-to-date information.

Wishing the entire Yeshiva University community a year of good health and happiness. Shanah Tovah.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has made available a useful document, Preventing Transmission of H1N1 Influenza in Colleges and Universities (PDF).

We encourage all members of the YU community to download and read it.

We also would emphasize an important point from the document that you have read here before—that respiratory hygiene and hand-washing are the most effective personal measures we can take to prevent flu.

Here’s wishing everyone a healthy and blessèd new year! Shanah Tovah!

It is currently expected that a vaccine will be available for H1N1 flu at some point this fall. Since H1N1 is infecting young people at high rates, the Centers for Disease Control and Department of Health and Human Services have recommended that people age 24 and younger be treated as a high-priority group for receiving vaccinations.

YU is working with Beth Israel Hospital Center (who manage our Manhattan Campus Health Services) to make H1N1 vaccine available to our students under age 24 or in other high-risk groups when that vaccine is released to the public.

Some people may have question about whether or not they should take the vaccine. We recommend that students and staff discuss vaccination with their personal health care provider. The CDC also has detailed information about the vaccine.

In recent years, YU has provided seasonal flu vaccinations for a nominal fee on our Manhattan campuses for students, faculty and staff. This year, we recommend that faculty and staff receive vaccination for seasonal flu from their primary health care provider when indicated. While we will attempt to make arrangements to provide seasonal flu vaccinations on campus for faculty and staff, this might not be feasible if our Health Services are overwhelmed with student requests. We are exploring alternative arrangements for providing vaccinations for faculty and staff.

We will e-mail and post more information about vaccinations as it becomes available. It is recommended that people not receive seasonal flu vaccinations too early, since the vaccine is effective for several months only. If given too early, it may not provide coverage for the bulk of the typical flu season.

An official from the Centers for Disease Control discusses the use of antiviral medications and measures you can take to avoid falling ill.

If you have any questions about the medications discussed in this video, please contact your physician.

Elmo from Sesame Street has many friends and admirers—not only among the small fry.

Do you know anyone who needs tips on washing their hands or good cough and sneeze hygiene? Send them here!

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has made available a poster summarizing what to do if you are feeling unwell and believe you may have H1N1.

We encourage you to download the poster, familiarize yourself with its recommendations and post it in your workplace, dorm or other common area.

The key recommendation: If you have difficulty breathing and a fever (100.4° F or higher), get to a hospital right away or call 911, saying you may have severe influenza.

» Download WORRIED ABOUT H1N1 SWINE FLU? (PDF)

Flu.gov has published new CDC guidance for responses to influenza for institutions of higher learning during the 2009-2010 academic year, as well as a communications toolkit for institutions of higher learning.

Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these resources. If you have any questions about these recommendations, do not hesitate to contact Dr. Chaim Nissel of your YU Health Alerts team.

The general advice for students from the CDC bears repeating:

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Cover coughs or sneezes using your elbow or shoulder instead of your hands when a tissue is not available.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

• Frequently clean your living quarters. If you live together with other students, you should frequently clean commonly-used surfaces such as doorknobs, refrigerator handles, remote controls, computer keyboards, countertops, faucet handles, and bathroom areas.

• Plan to monitor your health by checking for fever.

To reiterate: The well-being of our students, faculty and staff is our top priority. Please be in touch if we can offer guidance or additional information.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has urged all segments of society to prepare for the likely possibility of widespread H1N1 influenza (“swine flu”) outbreaks earlier than the usual seasonal flu season.

This video from the Centers for Disease control offers general information about H1N1 and the pandemic. Ample information (including multimedia) can be found, as well, at the website of Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

While H1N1 so far has resulted in relatively mild illness for most people, it has spread widely. It also has caused deaths and could mutate and become a more dangerous strain. With this is mind, it seems prudent to plan for illness on Yeshiva University campuses.

By sharing information, we can keep our campuses as healthy and safe as possible. Yeshiva University will monitor reports from the relevant federal, state, local and college health authorities and update the information on this site as the situation warrants.

Please check this site often or subscribe to our RSS feed to receive the latest updates.

Take a moment now to learn:

• how H1N1 influenza spreads, and how you can avoid contracting it

• how you can plan ahead

• what do you if you fall ill

• which individuals are especially vulnerable

• what vaccinations and preventative treatments may be available

Please visit the right-hand sidebar, as well, for links to federal, state, and local health authorities and for information on Health Services here at Yeshiva University.

H1N1 influenza is acquired and spread mainly through contact with respiratory drops that are released when infected people cough or sneeze.

Please take the following steps to minimize your chances of contracting the virus and to help protect others:

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and discard the tissue.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizer—especially after you cough or sneeze. Please watch the helpful instructional video from the Centers for Disease Control.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

• Avoid close contact with sick people.

• If you are sick with flu-like illness, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever subsides (except to obtain medical care). Your fever should be gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine.

Facilities Services will increase the availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizers around our campuses.

» Download the Keep Your Germs to Yourself! pocket card (PDF) from the New York State Department of Health

Students living in Yeshiva University residence halls or apartments should take sensible steps to be prepared in case of illness:

• Make sure you have your primary care physician’s telephone number and your health insurance information.

• Bring along some basic medical supplies, including a thermometer and a medicine like acetaminophen or ibuprofen to manage low grade fever (only if recommended by your doctor).

• Before arriving on campus, discuss with your primary care physician whether you fall into a high-risk group as this will have ramifications for vaccination, prophylactic anti-viral treatment and general risk.

• If you fall into a high-risk category, it is essential that you make plans with your doctor before you come to YU about what to do if you should fall ill.

Those at higher risk of flu complications include:

• People over 65 and under 2 years old

• Pregnant women

• People with chronic breathing problems (including asthma)

• People with chronic heart, liver, kidney or blood diseases

• People with neurological disorders that impact breathing

• People with diabetes

• People with weakened immune systems, as result of either illness or medication

• People under 18 on long-term aspirin therapy

If you have any of these conditions, it is essential that you consult with your primary care physician to discuss preventative measures and make plans in case you fall ill.

Please see updated information about vaccines for H1N1 influenza and seasonal influenza.

At this time, the pharmaceutical industry is at work on a vaccine for H1N1 influenza. It is unclear whether this vaccine will be available in the near future; furthermore, if the vaccine does come onto market, it is unclear how many doses will be available.

Please visit this site or subscribe to our RSS feed for the latest information on vaccine availability and recommendations on who should be vaccinated.

Right now, it is recommended that only those in high-risk groups or who are suffering severe flu symptoms receive Tamiflu and similar anti-viral medications. The more widely Tamiflu and similar medicines are used, the greater the chance that drug-resistant strains of the H1N1 virus will emerge, leading to significantly greater severity of illness in the future.