Have a fever, cough, or headache? Do you feel tired, and do your muscles hurt? It must be the flu! That is the assumption that most people are coming to nowadays as the flu pandemic spreads through the U.S. and our very own Wayland High School.

During the week of the 19th of October – three weeks ago – a total of 62 kids were absent. That’s about an average of 12 every day. Two weeks ago, the total number of absent kids jumped to 159. That is an average of 32 kids each day. According to preliminary data from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of last week, there were 142 students absent, averaging about 47 people absent each day. If this trend continues, in approximately two weeks there could be a daily average of approximately 82 students absent.

Where does the epidemic originate from? It starts with kids who are coming to school when they know they are sick or students who are following unhealthy habits. Notice that the number of absentees spiked during the week of Halloween. Partying? Eating too much candy? Sharing a coke with your friends?

As you may already know, the following guidelines are the basic rules you should follow for a healthy winter:

1. Cover your mouth. It’s not the best idea to use your hand because your hand can spread germs over doorknobs, other people, and yourself. The best thing to do is to cough into your elbow; that way the germs are less likely to spread.
2. Wash your hands. Washing your hands will give you great results. If it isn’t possible to watch your hands at the moment, then make sure you use sanitizer.
3. Stop touching your face. Viruses and bacteria will get into your body any way they can. Your eyes, mouth, and nose are easy passages for germs to gain a foothold. So yes, it is time to stop picking your nose, sucking your thumb, and rubbing your eyes unless you have recently washed your hands.
4. Don’t share food and drinks. Lots of people share water or other food and drinks with their friends during lunch, but it would be a wise decision to avoid that for this flu season. If your friend is sick and you drink their water, then, chances are, you will get sick too.

Do you think that you are following all the precautions above? With a hand sanitizer dispenser around almost every corner in school, most people would say that they are being sanitary. Then why are the absentee numbers still growing? Is it enough to just sanitize? Does Wayland High School need to have more than just hand sanitizer to get through this rough flu season? After a quick survey, an estimated 60% of WHS students think that our school is doing enough to protect its students from the flu, while 40% think that it is not.

Although Wayland High School may be offering flu shots and truck loads of hand sanitizer, the number of absentees per week is growing at an alarming rate, which could show that something isn’t quite right. Is the school not doing enough, or are students not being careful? That is the main question I would like answered. But as this flu season rages on, it is everyone’s responsibility to keep in mind their health and that of others around them.

WSPN READER POLL:

[polldaddy poll=2243357]