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Santa Swine Flu

December 11th, 2009 by flanews

Kids across the state are standing in line for a chance to see Santa Claus and make their Christmas wish list official. But while they ask Santa for gifts, they may be giving him a little unwelcome present, their germs. As Whitney Ray tells us, Santa’s taking extra precautions to keep from catching swine flu.

Seven year-old Malcolm and his friends are letting Santa Claus know what they expect to see under the Christmas tree.

“I want a BB Gun,” said Malcolm. His Friend Caleb is asking for a Wii.

The kids will stay on the nice list, as long none of them gave Santa the Swine Flu. All the hugs and handshakes have Santa a little germ-a-phobic this holiday season. 50 million Americans have already contracted the H1N1 virus.

“It’s very important for parents of children who are sick to keep those sick children at home. To not expose them to other children in line waiting to see Santa,” said Susan Smith, a spokesman for The Florida Department of Health.

Parents taking their kids to give their wish list to Santa Claus may want to give them an early Christmas present; hand sanitizer, and for those who didn’t bring their own, “each child was given hand sanitizer, and that was a good thing. And it was so discrete. It was done so discreetly and that was a good thing,” said Ruby Barr, the boys’ chaperone.

And Santa even keeps an extra bottle on the fence in his winter wonderland. Santa was too busy keeping up with who’s been naughty or nice to talk on camera, but tells us he’s already received both of his flu shots and expects to be healthy for his trip around the globe.

Since May, 180 Floridians have died of swine flu. 10-thousand have died nationwide. Although the virus has slowed, experts say a second wave is expected before flu seasons ends. Florida hasn’t been hit as hard of other states, but the peak of flu season in Florida comes in February, a little later than in colder states.

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