Still need a dose of protection against the H1N1 flu virus? Rite Aid stores announced Wednesday that many of its stores in California are making shots available for purchase.
Health officials have urged people to be vaccinated against the so-called swine flu. County health departments also offer shots.
To see which Rite Aid stores are offering the service, at a cost of $15 per shot, visit www.riteaid.com/H1N1.
– Bobby Caina Calvan
Hands-down, it was the most repeated health tip of 2009: Wash your hands.
Everywhere we turn, a sign commands us to lather up, or else. Hand sanitizer pumps and stations have mushroomed in offices and stores. President Barack Obama endorsed hand washing. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention touts it as the “single most important thing” for infection prevention.
Here’s a disclaimer: While scientists know good hand hygiene prevents a number of diseases, they do not know if it wards off the flu, H1N1 or otherwise.
“There is a debate as to whether the flu virus is spread by hands,” said John Swartzberg, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health. “There’s a lack of data. We just don’t know.”
To infect a human, the flu virus has to get inside the respiratory system. Hand washing prevents germs from landing on the face through the hand-to-face contact that occurs around 15 times an hour. But it’s unclear if the virus can travel to the respiratory system via scratching the nose or rubbing the eyes.
On the other hand (so to speak), diseases known to spread by hand contact are transmitted in places that hands touch, such as ingestion through the mouth.
The flu is most likely spread by flying droplets, some large and some microscopic, experts said. That’s why we cover our coughs and sneezes. But we also leave ourselves vulnerable by simply standing near people and inhaling after they speak, sing or shout.
Public health officials, tending to look at the bigger picture, emphasized hand-washing’s overall benefits.
“There’s no question you’re more likely to get sick if people are coughing in your face than if you touch a doorknob, but there’s plenty of evidence that washing your hands stops a variety of respiratory illnesses,” said Dr. Glennah Trochet, Sacramento County’s public health officer.
Though everybody knows hand washing is right, most aren’t aware of the science behind it, Swartzberg said.
Soap does not kill germs, he said.
Soap merely makes the hands slippery, and the mechanical process of rubbing the hands together unsticks germs. Then rinsing flushes the microbes down the sink. That’s why we need to wash our hands for 15 to 20 seconds – we need that much time for the germs to slide off.
Hand sanitizer companies have benefited from the hand hygiene hype. Consumer appetite for the clear gel went through the roof this year. Between April and October, hand sanitizer sales were $118.4 million, up 70.5 percent over the same period a year ago, according to the Nielsen Co..
New hand-hygiene products have flooded the market.
• Disney is marketing “Musical Hand Wash Timers” that play music and light up for 20 seconds so children know how long to wash their hands.
• Ultracept antiseptic hand wash claims to “provide antimicrobial effects for up to six hours.”
• StaSAFE hand sanitizer is sold as an alcohol-free alternative. Creators of staSAFE, founded this year, say they have sold more than 2 million bottles, far more than expected. They’re having a hard time finding two-ounce bottles for their product.
Swartzberg said hand sanitizers can be just as effective as hand washing, as long as there’s no visible dirt on the hands, and the sanitizer has at least 60 percent alcohol concentration.
Dennice Robinson of Sacramento said she has mini bottles of sanitizer in her purse and car, and at the office.
“I’m scared of catching something,” said the 50-year-old insurance company employee, eyeing rows of soap at Target. “I’ve always been conscious, but this year especially. I’ll use it when I leave this store, I sure will.”
Some area counties are offering free H1N1 vaccination clinics. The clinics below are open to all county residents.
Sacramento County
• Today: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., St. Anthony’s Church, 14012 Second Ave., Walnut Grove.
• Monday: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., First Baptist Church, 4401 San Juan Ave., Fair Oaks.
• Tuesday: 4:30-8 p.m., Elk Grove High School, 9800 Elk Grove-Florin Road, Elk Grove.
• Jan. 6: 3-7 p.m., Grant Union High School, 1400 Grand Ave., Sacramento.
• Jan. 7: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sunrise Mall drive-through, 6041 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights (no walk-ins, vehicles only).
• Jan. 8: 3-7 p.m., Inderkum High School, 2500 New Market Drive, Sacramento.
• Jan. 11: 4-8 p.m., Valley High School, 6300 Ehrhardt Ave., Sacramento.
• Jan. 12: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church, 6929 Franklin Blvd., Sacramento.
• Jan. 13: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Christ Community Church, 5025 Manzanita Ave., Carmichael.
• Jan. 14: 1-5 p.m., Chabolla Center, 610 Chabolla Ave., Galt.
• Jan. 15: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., County Administrative Center, 700 H St., Sacramento.
El Dorado County
• Tuesday: 3-6 p.m., Divide Wellness Center, 6065 Highway 193, Georgetown.
• Jan. 10: 12-3 p.m., El Dorado Hill Community Services District gymnasium, 1021 Harvard Way, El Dorado Hills.
• Jan. 14: 1-3 p.m., Pioneer Bible Church, 6851 Mount Aukum Road, Somerset.
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