Please take “swine flu” seriously! Someone’s life could depend on it.
I am writing to thank all those who are taking every precaution to avoid transmitting the flu. It is evident to us in Health Services that many are listening to our message.
Your efforts are critically important to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community. I appreciate the satirical humor of Sarah Weiss’s article “Swine Flu: It’s Not that Serious” and Justin Levy’s accompanying cartoon in the September 15 issue of the Voice.
But as Sarah points out, the usually mild H1N1 virus can be very harmful — even fatal — to people with underlying medical conditions such as chronic asthma, pregnancy, diabetes or a compromised immune system. Students may not know how vulnerable a fellow student may be- these conditions are often invisible to us.
Nor can one know the conditions of the family members of any given faculty or staff. Cornell University, for example, has already had one student death from complications of H1N1.
Please help keep our campus and the New London community as healthy as possible by following the Centers for Disease Control Guidelines.
Sincerely.
Cate Moffett
Director of Student Health Services
