The Prescription Center Pharmacy launches 'Be Prepared, Not Scared' campaign

Oct 8 2009

The Prescription Center Pharmacy, headquartered in Beverly Hills, California announced its “Be Prepared, Not Scared” campaign today. The purpose of the campaign is to help both businesses and consumers stay healthy, without dramatically changing their daily routines. Dr. Afshin Nassir, the pharmacy’s Founder and CEO, states that “We want to help businesses and consumers create a realistic plan to deal with the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Virus, which is now, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), at a Pandemic stage.”

According to the CDC (www.cdc.gov/), The World Health Organization (WHO), states that “Since the declaration of a pandemic, the new H1N1 virus has continued to spread, with the number of countries reporting cases of novel H1N1 nearly doubling.” In addition, one thing that appears to be different from seasonal influenza is that adults older than 64 years do not yet appear to be at increased risk of 2009 H1N1-related complications thus far. CDC laboratory studies have shown that no children and very few adults younger than 60 years old have existing antibody to 2009 H1N1 flu virus; however, about one-third of adults older than 60 may have antibodies against this virus.

Salena Dhillon Zanotti, MD, FACOG at Fairview Hospital, part of the Cleveland Clinic Health System, further states that “all pregnant women should get the seasonal influenza vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine. Pregnant women are known to be at a higher risk for complications from infection with seasonal influenza and with H1N1 influenza. Children over the age of 6 months should receive both vaccines as well. If a household has an infant less than 6 months of age, the close contacts should be vaccinated as well. If a woman receives either the seasonal influenza or the H1N1 influenza vaccine, she should continue with breastfeeding as breastfeeding is both safe and extremely protective for the infant.”

Dr. Zanotti further states that “standard hygiene practices are recommended. Covering your nose and mouth when sneezing. Throwing away a tissue after you use it. Hand washing with soap and warm water. Any alcohol based hand cleaners are helpful as well. Try to avoid close contact with sick people. Anti-viral kleenex are available. These are a 3 layer tissue paper with sodium lauryl sulfate in the middle that is advertised as killing 99% of virus it comes into contact with. This has not been tested with H1N1. Ideally, everyone should throw away their kleenex after using it.”

As Nassir states, “We will likely see the younger, usually healthy portion of the population at a more than normal risk of contracting the virus. But, there are actions business owners, landlords and consumers can take that help reduce the odds of contracting this virus.” Most of these suggestions are contained on the CDC’s website, but The Prescription Center Pharmacy takes matters further. “We want to take a pro-active approach in helping people prepare.”

As part of its “Be Prepared, Not Scared” Campaign, The Prescription Center is offering a free telephone consultation to businesses and consumers regarding hygienic measures they can take to be protected, without dramatically changing their daily routine. In addition to the consultation, the pharmacy has swine flu kits, called “Stay Healthy” kits, that contain the right mix if products such as: anti-viral/anti-bacterial Kleenex, anti-viral/anti-bacterial hand wipes that can also be used for a telephone or work station, anti-viral/anti-bacterial hand cleanser, face masks, anti-viral/anti-bacterial janitorial supplies, etc. Each kit is customized for the industry a business is in, with a careful attention to how that business interacts with its customers. “Retailers, Rental Car Agencies, Hotels, Movie Theaters, Office Workers, Health Care workers, Public Transportation Employees…..the list goes on, each have unique needs in protecting their employees and their customers,” states Nassir. The “Stay Healthy” kit is designed to protect employers, employees and consumers. Through Prescription Center’s consultation out-reach, businesses can obtain information regarding which practices and products best suit their situation.

Legal opinions support Nassir’s position. According to Los Angeles, California-based Attorney, Asha Dhillon, Esq., “With the surge of H1N1, employers are put in a unique and somewhat precarious position. Under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act ("OSHA"), every employer has a general duty to provide its employees with a safe work place, which is 'free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm' (29 U.S.C.§ 654 (a)). Similarly, California Labor Code Section 6400 et al. places a burden on an employer to protect the health and safety of its employees. Consequently, an employer that fails to adequately protect its employees from H1N1 may be subject to liability under OSHA and the Labor Code, especially in a situation where one employee has already acquired the virus.

“Accordingly, employers are strongly encouraged to follow the guidelines that the CDC and U.S. Department of Homeland Security have published on how to prepare for and deal with the H1N1 influenza. These guidelines suggest that employers educate their employees on how to avoid influenza risk factors by: improving hand hygiene, frequently cleaning commonly touched surfaces, using tissues to cover coughs and sneezes, among other things. Therefore, although not required, a pro-active approach of providing employees with anti-viral supplies, consistent with the guidelines, would be prudent.”