ATLANTA (August 11, 2009) – State Sen. Jack Murphy (R-Cumming), chairman of the Senate Public Safety Committee, yesterday participated in a H1N1 preparedness briefing at the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA). Members of the Senate and House Public Safety Committees were briefed during a joint public safety meeting today.
“I want to thank GEMA leadership for keeping us informed on the latest pandemic and vaccination plans for the H1N1 virus,” said Murphy. “I will be meeting with the superintendants and staff of the Forsyth and Cherokee County Schools to ensure consistent, frequent and credible information is shared with parents as we move into flu season.”
Murphy will also address with the schools the need for controlled reactions to possible outbreaks rather than panic. “I want them to treat H1N1 the same as a moderate influenza outbreak and no rush to shut down schools. It’s important that parents are vigilant about getting their children vaccinated and teaching them good hygiene, just like any other flu season.”
Experts stressed that the H1N1 virus is no worse than seasonal flu. Earlier this year, only 311 specimens turned out to be positive for the H1N1 virus. That’s only .000033% of Georgia’s total population. Seasonal flu accounts for 35,000-40,000 deaths each year nationally. Since the detection of H1N1 in Georgia, only two deaths have occurred.
In a recent joint letter from the Georgia Department of Health and the Georgia Department of Education to school superintendents and district health officers, they state that current data indicates that while the number of cases of swine flu may increase when children return to school the severity of the illness caused by the H1N1 virus is NOT increasing. GEMA is working closely with state legislators, the Department of Education (DOE), the Department of Community Health (DCH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to keep everyone well informed as we prepare for vaccinations and the spread of swine flu.
For more information on the swine flu in Georgia, go to http://www.gema.state.ga.us/.
Sen. Jack Murphy serves as the chairman of the Public Safety Committee. He represents the 27th Senate District, which includes portions of Cherokee and Forsyth counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.7127 or via e-mail at jack.murphy@senate.ga.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
August 11, 2009
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber, Director
raegan.weber@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028