Officials prep for flu season
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
9/19/2009

With the influx of residents coming back into the township and the school district welcoming students back into its classrooms, township representatives met recently with emergency first responders from Cherry Hill and surrounding municipalities to discuss the upcoming flu season and issues related to swine flu.

Stemming from information and communications from the Center for Disease Control, Mayor Bernie Platt met recently with Fire Chief Robert Giorgio and other assorted first responders throughout the area, including Haddonfield Fire Chief Joe Riggs.

Working closely with surrounding municipalities and their first responders is important to be prepared for a rough flu season, Platt said.

“I believe it is imperative for all township entities to be acting as one cohesive unit throughout the flu season. We need to have interoperability between local agencies at all times and be able to communicate factual information to the public on any local issues related to swine flu,” Platt said. “At the end of the day I’m cautiously optimistic that our planning will not be needed. I felt very confident that the proper response on a local level will be executed and that the lines of communication in Cherry Hill will be open and available for information to be distributed between agencies and to the public.”

Swine flu adds an extra element to this upcoming flu season, he said, which proved a need for even more planning between the municipalities. While not many cases have been reported in the surrounding area, the World Health Organization declared swine flu as an official pandemic, making it the first global pandemic since the Hong Kong flu in 1968.

Giorgio said it is important for the first responders to be in the position of a proactive response instead of a reactionary one.

“We have practices put in place to disinfect equipment and our apparatus on a daily basis. We’re making sure we take steps to not pass anything on from the work force to the public,” he said. “The process that we use, bringing together key department officials, is the same one we use when we have a major storm coming in or an event in town.”

Haddonfield’s emergency responders back up Cherry Hill’s, Giorgio said, and vice versa so it was important to bring Riggs into the meeting as well.

“As we continue to monitor the situation, our understanding from the federal government is that a swine flu vaccine will be available in the middle of October, and federal health officials are still planning how to distribute the initial supplies of vaccine to those considered most vulnerable, including people between six months and 24 years of age, and pregnant women,” Platt said.

Seasonal flu vaccinations will be available at a number of locations in the township this fall. According to Platt, the Camden County Department of Health has a variety of locations set, including the Carman Tilelli Community Center at Town Hall and several other locations throughout the county, including the upcoming Senior Festival on Sept. 27, at Cooper River Park.

“Going forward, my administration will continue to convene meetings with our first responders and school district and adjust our preparation and contingency planning for the flu season,” Platt said.

For more information on the preparations and locations for upcoming flu shots, please visit Cherry Hill Township’s Web site at cherry-hill.nj.com.