Forget cookies and milk. Santa wants the H1N1 flu vaccine。
Many of America's Santas want to be given priority for the vaccine and not just because of those runny-nosed kids that will be sitting on their laps for the next month. There's also the not-so-little matter of that round belly. Research has suggested obesity could be a risk factor。
H1N1 flu has become such a worry that the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas featured a seminar on the illness at a recent conference. The group also urged its members to use hand sanitizer and take vitamins to boost their immune systems。
The president of the US organization said he also hopes parents will keep sick kids away。
"We don't want any child to go without seeing Santa, but it's not worth bringing your child to the mall, infecting the Santa and infecting the other children," Nicholas Trolli said。
Here called a boy who informed him last year that he had a fever and had stayed home from school. But, the child said, his mother thought it wasa good day to visit Santa。
Ernest Berger, president of another group called Santa America, asked an Alabama congressman last week to designate Santas a priority group forthe H1N1 flu vaccine, like health care workers or caregivers forinfants。
A spokesman for Republican US Rep Jo Bonner confirmed Berger's request and said staff members were looking into it。
Berger hopes Santas will use hand sanitizers and encourage children to do thesame, without turning the experience into a hygiene lecture。
曲奇餅和牛奶都沒(méi)用,圣誕老人現(xiàn)在想要的是甲流疫苗。
目前,美國(guó)很多圣誕老人都想優(yōu)先接種甲流疫苗,這不只是因?yàn)橄聜€(gè)月(圣誕節(jié)期間)那些流著鼻涕的小孩會(huì)坐在他們腿上,這還與他們圓鼓鼓的肚子有關(guān)。研究表明肥胖也是感染甲流的一個(gè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素。
甲型流感的肆虐引發(fā)了眾多擔(dān)憂,為此,“真正長(zhǎng)胡子的圣誕老人聯(lián)合會(huì)”還在近日召開(kāi)的一個(gè)研討會(huì)上專門舉辦了一個(gè)有關(guān)這一疾病的講座。該組織還敦促其成員用洗手液洗手,并服用維他命以增強(qiáng)免疫力。
這一美國(guó)組織的主席表示,他還希望家長(zhǎng)們盡量別帶自己生病的孩子外出。
尼古拉斯•特洛里說(shuō):“我們不想讓孩子們過(guò)圣誕看不到圣誕老人,但如果你在孩子生病的時(shí)候把他(她)帶到商場(chǎng)去,傳染了圣誕老人和其他小孩,那就不值了。”
他還講了去年的一件事,當(dāng)時(shí)一個(gè)男孩告訴他說(shuō)自己發(fā)燒在家,不能上學(xué)。但他的媽媽卻認(rèn)為正好可以趁這個(gè)時(shí)間去拜訪圣誕老人。
上周,另一個(gè)名為“美國(guó)圣誕老人”組織的主席歐尼斯特•伯杰請(qǐng)求一位阿拉巴馬國(guó)會(huì)議員作出指示,讓圣誕老人享受與醫(yī)療工作者和嬰兒護(hù)理員的同等待遇,優(yōu)先接種甲流疫苗。
共和黨代表佐伊•勃納爾的發(fā)言人證實(shí)了伯杰的這一請(qǐng)求,并稱工作人員正在研究這一事項(xiàng)。
伯杰希望圣誕老人在洗手時(shí)使用洗手液,并鼓勵(lì)孩子們也這么做,這樣就不用以說(shuō)教的形式來(lái)向孩子們傳輸衛(wèi)生知識(shí)了。