As the initial round of swine flu vaccines arrived in Connecticut, many employers still appeared to lack adequate plans for dealing with any extreme cases of absenteeism, whether the result of precautionary school closures or in the worst-case scenario a deadly pandemic locally.
In the first run of the Novel H1N1 flu in Connecticut, more than 2,000 people contracted the virus, including more than 650 in Fairfield County. While fewer than 150 people statewide required hospitalization, 10 people died as a result of complications from swine flu, none of them in Fairfield County.
While swine flu activity was being tracked regionally in New York as the calendar turned to October, the severity was milder in Connecticut than in any other Eastern state save Vermont, which had only sporadic occurrences.
The state was scheduled to begin receiving swine flu vaccines this week, with 20,000 doses in nasal inhalers slated to arrive initially as part of 500,000 doses by mid October, and hundreds of thousands more after that. The state has 3.4 million residents.
The state set up a hotline last week for Department of Public Health employees to answer questions concerning swine flu, operating Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The number is 800-830-9426.
In a poll last month by the Harvard School of Public Health, just a third of businesses surveyed said they could sustain their business without severe problems if half their work force were absent for two weeks due to an episode of swine flu.
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Overwhelmingly, businesses indicated they will not provide paid time off for employees to care for sick family members, or to mind their children if schools or daycare centers are shut down.
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Stamford-based Pitney Bowes Inc., one of the largest employers in Fairfield County, has responded with what it calls an “all hazards” plan, featuring:
- procedures on absenteeism and work site infection containment and control;
- staffing arrangements and virtual work options;
- backup operational sites and recovery strategies;
- protocols with our industry partners, vendors, and suppliers; and
- employee communications and education programs.
OperationsInc. a human-resources advisory firm in Stamford, saw attendance quintuple for webinars addressing swine flu compared with those on other topics, and has scheduled them biweekly throughout flu season, including for Oct. 29.
Lewis said in addition to the practical problems protecting workers and clients and possibly running operations shorthanded, companies may face potential liability if steps are not taken to minimize the chances of contracting the virus at a work site ”“ at a minimum, posting instructions on how to avoid spreading it.
“I think many of the companies we are talking to are putting this plan of action together, but aren”™t putting the plan in action,” said David Lewis, CEO of OperationsInc.
The Connecticut Business and Industry Association scheduled a conference on the topic last week in Hartford where CBIA is based, featuring Bo Mitchell, the president of Wilton-based 911 Consulting L.L.C.
Mitchell”™s message? Whether business owners believe the recent threat was significant or overstated, its disruptive effects were real, and a reappearance of the virus this fall is almost certain. The pandemic flu business continuity plans being cobbled together must start fast, as Mitchell puts it, then last for anywhere from two months to a year depending on the severity of a pandemic.
While standard business continuity planning typically revolves around information technology via secondary sites, a pandemic virus threat differs in that the planning revolves around people, Mitchell noted.
While IT plays a role in enabling telecommuting for those who must stay home as a result of contracting the virus, most key employees already enjoy remote access to the data and communications tools they need in the course of the workday. A severe outbreak of swine flu would most heavily impact companies that require onsite staff, such as manufacturing and many services jobs. It is those companies that could be hard-pressed to keep functioning in a business-as-usual manner.
