Town of Belmont - Health Department

“As the Commonwealth prepares for the second storm of the week, with its strong winds and driving rains, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has issued a number of safety tips to assist residents regarding the potential of flooding throughout the region, be it inland or along the coast,” stated MEMA Director Don Boyce. “Flooding continues to be the most common and costly type of emergency Massachusetts faces, annually.”

MONITOR STREAM AND URBAN STREET FLOODING – For those living in areas that are prone to localized flooding, closely watch small streams and low-lying areas for early flooding. Make sure street catch basins are cleared.

DO NOT WALK THROUGH FLOWING WATER – Drowning is the number one cause of flood deaths. Most of these drownings occur during flash floods. Flash flood waters move at very fast speeds and can roll boulders, sweep away cars, tear out trees, destroy buildings, and obliterate bridges. Six inches of swiftly moving water can knock you off of your feet. If you must walk through a flooded area, use a pole or stick to ensure that the ground is still there and solid, even where the water is not flowing.

DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH A FLOODED AREA – More people drown in their cars than anywhere else. Cars can be swept away in just 2 feet of moving water. Do not drive around road barriers. They are there for a reason. The road or bridge may be washed out or structurally unsound. If your car becomes trapped in floodwaters, abandon it immediately and climb to higher ground. Many deaths have resulted from attempts to move stalled vehicles.

AVOID POWER LINES AND ELECTRICAL WIRES – Electrocution is also a major killer in floods. Electrical current can travel through water. Report downed power lines to your utility company or local emergency manager. Always assumed a downed wire is a live wire.

BE ALERT FOR GAS LEAKS – Do not turn on electric lights, but use a flashlight to inspect for damage. A spark from the light switch could cause an explosion or fire. Do not smoke or use candles, lanterns or open flames unless you are sure that the gas has been turned off and the area has been aired out.

CLEAN EVERYTHING THAT GETS WET – Floodwaters have probably picked up sewage and chemicals from roads, farms and factories. Spoiled food and flooded medicines and cosmetics are health hazards. When in doubt, throw them away.

BE PREPARED FOR A ROUGH TIME – Recovering from a flood is a big job. It is rough on the body and the spirit. The aftereffects of this type of disaster on you and your family may last a long time. Consult a health professional on how to recognize and care for anxiety, stress and fatigue.

MEMA officials also remind residents who have experienced flood damage to take photographs as soon as possible. Those who have a flood insurance policy should contact the insurance company or agent who wrote the policy as soon as possible in order to file a claim. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA). The NFIP makes flood insurance available in communities that adopt and enforce ordinances to reduce flood damage.

The last SEASONAL and H1N1 flu vaccine clinic will be Tuesday, March 9^th, 4:30 to 7:30 PM, in the 3^rd floor Gallery of the Homer Municipal Building, 19 Moore St. Anyone six months of age and older who wishes to receive a seasonal flu and/or H1N1 flu vaccine is invited to this clinic. There are no residency requirements or charge for the vaccines. Children requiring a second dose of either seasonal flu vaccine or H1N1 vaccine should attend this clinic. Children nine years old and under require a second dose of H1N1 vaccine during this flu season. Children eight years old and under require a second dose of seasonal flu vaccine during the first year that they receive the vaccine.

Residents are highly encouraged to get vaccinated, especially with the H1N1 vaccine, now, while the disease is quiet and the vaccine is finally more plentiful. We can’t predict what will happen with H1N1 in the future. It was last March and April that it first appeared on the world stage.

Seasonal and H1N1 disease remains low at this time. Traditionally we would be about to enter the peak time for seasonal flu cases, so it is an unusual year. It is not unusual, however, to have less disease of all kinds when everyone is being so diligent about hand-washing, cough etiquette, staying home when sick and getting vaccinated when vaccines exist. Public Health would like to keep this high level of attention to these details forever.

An H1N1 vaccination is a controlled introduction of this virus to your body’s immune system. After the introduction, the body produces antibodies, or in other words, things to fight off the H1N1 virus if, or when, your body meets up with it again. Even if the virus changes slightly, your body will know that it has seen something like it before, and will hopefully be able to fight it off. Without the vaccination you are relying totally on your body’s immune system to do the fighting, and especially as we get older, the immune system may not be up to the task.

There is some belief that the older population may have come into contact with this virus previously and has some immunity. However, the Health Department encourages all residents to be vaccinated for H1N1 this flu season! The only people who do not have to get a vaccination are those who were told by their doctor that they were tested for H1N1 and were positive. The vaccinations are NOT MANDATORY, however, so you do not have to get one if you don’t want one.

Everyone can receive both a SEASONAL flu vaccine and a H1N1 flu vaccine on the same day or within days of each other as long as ONE OR BOTH ARE INJECTIONS. You cannot receive both vaccines in intranasal form on the same day or less than 28 days apart. You can have one injection of one and the intranasal form of the other on the same day.

Belmont’s Flu Hotline, 617-993-2730 is expected to remain in place through the month of March even though Health Department clinics will be discontinued after March 9^th. Information about clinics in other locations can be found on the MassPro website at http://flu.masspro.org.

Individuals with influenza like illness (fever of 100 degrees F, cough and sore throat) can return to normal activities 24 hours after the fever disappears (without the use of fever-reducing medications.) Fevers have been lasting from 2 to 4 days typically so the time one needs to stay out of circulation is 3 to 5 days. Belmont has continued to be quite fortunate. The cases of flu-like symptoms in the schools have not been more than expected over the first four months of the school year. The School Nurses have continued to emphasize good health habits, hand-washing and cough etiquette to combat disease of all kinds.

Testing for H1N1 is still being done only on individuals who have a greater chance of severe complications, such as those individuals with underlying chronic illness and those are the same individuals that may be treated with anti-viral medications. High risk groups for complications from the flu, including infants, children under two years of age, those with chronic illness and pregnant women should notify their physician if they start to have fever and other symptoms of flu-like illness. Any pregnant woman exhibiting flu-like symptoms should call her doctor immediately and start on anti-viral medication. That includes pregnant women who have been exposed to suspect, probable or confirmed cases. Early treatment with anti-viral medication is strongly recommended for pregnant women.

Good cough etiquette and frequent hand washing are essential at all times! Please continue to follow these basic rules for good health: 1) wash hands frequently with warm water and soap or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available; 2) cough into your elbow or into a tissue so that bacteria and viruses do not get on your hands or spread into the air; 3) stay home when you are sick; 4) get plenty of sleep, exercise and good nutrition.

You can call the Massachusetts hotline with questions if you would like. Please go to the websites, if possible, and review all of the available information before calling the number: 1-877-211-6277.

The Health Department has three more clinics planned over the next few weeks, but residents should consider this pretty much the last call. Vaccine is now becoming available at some of the pharmacies and supermarkets and health departments are starting to decrease the number of clinics being offered.

VERY IMPORTANT, HOWEVER, is that we are quite certain that there are still a large number of children, nine years of age and younger, who NEED their second dose of H1N1 vaccine. PARENTS PLEASE bring your children to the clinic on February 2^nd to get their second dose of vaccine. As you recall, there was concern initially that everyone was going to need two doses. They determined that only children nine and under require that second dose, but they really need to have it!

All residents can call the FLU HOTLINE, 617-993-2730, to get the most up to date information on flu distribution in Belmont. During business hours, we have used that line to make appointments for some clinics. At this point, there are no clinics which need appointments. No messages should be left on that line because they can’t be answered.

There is some belief that the older population may have come into contact with this virus previously and has some immunity. The Health Department encourages all residents to be vaccinated for H1N1 this flu season! The only people who do not have to get a vaccination are those who were told by their doctor that they were tested for H1N1 and were positive. The vaccinations are NOT MANDATORY, however, so you do not have to get one if you don’t want one.

When we have more information, we will make it available through the Town’s website, the schools, the local newspaper, at the Flu Hotline, 617-993-2730 and The MassPro website at http://flu.masspro.org.

You can call the Massachusetts hotline with questions if you would like. Please go to the websites, if possible, and review all of the available information before calling the number: 1-877-211-6277.

If H1N1 disease continues at its current rate, you can expect the last update on Monday, February 22^nd, unless there is important information that we must get to you before then. Helpful websites: http://www.mass.gov/dph/swineflu and http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu.

The Hazardous Product Facility will re-open April 2010. Registration will begin March 15, 2010 for those wanting to drop off hazardous waste. Please call the Health Department, 617-993-2720, for more information and to register (required).

The Health Department provides an array of services under the general heading of disease prevention and health promotion. This includes, but is not limited to, all of the inspectional services for all food services, swimming pools, day camps, tobacco sales, subsurface sewerage systems, sanitary housing, dumpsters, mercury recovery program, rechargeable battery collection and Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention, body art, biotechnology and emergency preparedness, communicable disease follow up and West Nile Virus monitoring.

Seasonal flu clinics are held in the Fall, H1N1 clinics are held as vaccine becomes available, rabies shots for cats and dogs in the Spring, participation in the Minuteman Hazardous Products Facility collection site April through November, communicable disease follow-up, information and referral on questions such as lead paint, asbestos and available health services.

The Department consists of a full-time Director, Assistant Director, Animal Control Officer, and Administrative Assistant. Part time staff include the Veteran's Service Officer, Sealer of Weights and Measures, Youth and Family Services Coordinator and Public Health Nurse. The Department is overseen by a three-member elected Board.