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October 13, 2009 Yuma, AZ -- Health officials are trying a new approach to educate the public about swine flu. On Tuesday they launched a hotline to answer your questions. The swine flu hotline is manned by health experts ready to give pertinent information on the seasonal flu and swine flu. So far the phones aren't ringing off the hook, but workers are gearing up as the flu season gets underway.
"The hotline was really put together because not everybody has access to the internet and we realize that and there's a lot of people out there that are kind of scared at the moment," says Yuma County Director of Communications Kevin Tunell. There could be a lot of concerns since just last week Yuma County announced it's first swine flu death. The victim was identified as a man in his late 40s who died from complications of H1N1.
Only two people are on the phones, but as call volume grows so will the number of workers in the call center.
"They can feel free to call into the phone and ask any H1N1 questions. Anything the ladies can't answer inside this room they will hunt down a nurse and get the questions answered for them," says Tunell.
The hotline number is (928) 373-1025. Health officials are also directing folks to the Yuma County website (yumacountyaz.gov) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for updates. In the meantime experts are asking the public to keep washing their hands and cover your cough.
