>The pandemic issue has reared its ugly head again. In a recent wellness newsletter, our health insurance provider discussed the potential for a flu pandemic and how to prepare. When Donald Rumsfield told families to stock up on duct tape and plastic in case of attack, I snorted. When the bird flu headlines kept turning up, I dismissed it as a long shot, far from a clear and present present danger. But now, even though a pandemic form of this particular virus hasn’t turned up yet, I feel like there’s a danger lurking somewhere.
The wellness newsletter mentioned earlier was aimed at school personnel. Teachers, aides, and other school staff come in contact with just about every germ and virus imaginable. The “experts” were warning us to take all the precautions we can and to stock the pantries in case the worst happens.
Now I’m worried. I handle student papers. I pick up pencils from the floor. I sit face to face and talk with them. When a student doesn’t feel well, he’ll come directly to me and ask to go to the school office. By the way, that happened twice today alone.
I wash my hands often, and I have a sweet-scented hand sanitizer on my desk, but the fact remains: I spend six hours a day in a closed room with twenty-seven children who love to perform their symphony of sneeze, cough, and sniffle.
Now here’s the kicker: whenever there’s a nationwide shortage of flu shots, teachers aren’t even on the priority list.
I guess I’d better stock the pantry after all.