Respiratory Illnesses on the Rise

Another death due to influenza has been reported in Snohomish county. It’s the second flu death this calendar year and the first to be reported in the official 2022-23 flu season, which is on track to be the worst flu season since before the COVID-19 pandemic. A Lynnwood woman in her 20s died last week at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. A Bothell woman in her 70s also died, the first flu-related death reported in the county since 2020.
 
For the last two years, COVID-19 precautions such as masking, distancing, and quarantining at home when sick have reduced the spread of diseases like the flu, RSV, and colds. This fall and winter, though, respiratory illnesses are back in high numbers. 

To keep children and families safe it is important to use preventive measures. Everyone age 6 month and older should be vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 as soon as possible.

• Staff and children should stay home when sick.
• Frequently clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces.
• Wash hands with soap and warm water often throughout the day.
• Increase indoor ventilation by opening windows, using air filters, and adjusting HVAC system settings.
• Spend more time outdoors. Make sure children are dressed for the weather.
• Consider well-fitting masks for staff and children, 5 years and older.

For more information on RSV and influenza, including handouts to share with families, please see links below:

• RSV in Infants and Young Children (cdc.gov)
• Flu guide for parents Flyer (cdc.gov)
• chart_covid_vs_flu_v2_printable.pdf (chla.org)

Application for Funds for Child Cares to Expand Available Slots

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers announced that the County is accepting proposals to increase available child care slots through capital projects for child care facilities, including Family Home Providers. We’re looking for projects that focus on capital expenditures, like facilities renovations and expansions to increase child care availability in areas defined by the State as child care deserts.
 
The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) will distribute funding from the County’s federal American Recovery Plan Act allocation. We are not attaching a dollar amount to this NOFA and we intend to reserve significant funding for later policy proposals related to child care workforce stabilization and expansion, among other issues. The goal of this NOFA is to identify shovel-ready projects to help us transition to contracting and implementation as soon as possible in the new year.

If your organization has any questions about this NOFA, please reach out to ORR directly at SnohomishCounty.Recovers@snoco.org. You can access the NOFA here, and the County will accept applications through January 13, 2023. The County will also host one remote technical assistance session for interested applicants. Attendance at this session is strongly recommended for interested applicants. The session will take place on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
 
If your organization is interested in applying for this NOFA, you can find more information on this website. 

COVID-19 Information

A  chart has been developed that can suggest what precautions child cares can take depending on what the community level is. You can also use the yellow or red precautions if you are seeing increased levels of respiratory illness in your child care regardless of the community level. Click on the chart or link to download.

Sign Up for Health Alerts

Our newsletters are a great way to get health and safety information for your child care, but sometimes there are important changes in between our issues. Sign up to receive our health alerts by going to www.snohd.org/notifyme and sign up for "Health Alerts for Child Care Providers." 

In case you missed them, our most recent health alerts include:

• 11/01/2022 - New COVID Guidance from Dept. of Health
• 11/9/2022 - Respiratory Illnesses on the Rise
• 11/17/2022 - Free COVID Test Kits

No-Cost COVID-19 Test Kits for
Child Care Facilities

Child care facilities that are in need of rapid antigen tests (home tests) can now contact Snohomish Health District to make a request for those tests. Tests are provided at no charge to child care facilities through Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) program funding. You must call the COVID-19 Call Center (425-339-5278) or email childcarehealth@snohd.org to request your kits and discuss the pick-up process. 

Tests are NOT available on a drop-in basis. Test kits will need to be picked up in Everett when ready.

Free COVID-19 test kits (home antigen), delivered directly to households, are still available through The Washington State Department of Health (DOH). Please remind your families/staff to order from https://www.sayyescovidhometest.org/. Each household can submit an order each calendar month.

In July, the FDA granted another extension to the expiration dates for the iHealth tests. Click here for the list of the lot numbers and the updated expiration dates or use this online tool to input the lot number to calculate the updated expiration date.

Seeing Clearly - The Importance of Good Vision

It is important for young children to have clear vision, but without screening, it can be difficult to tell if children are seeing well. Having good vision is important for children’s development, education, self-esteem, and confidence. Poor vision can be a contributor to  classroom behavior issues. The National Center for Childhood Vision and Eye Health has a guide  for preschool teachers. 

Here are some helpful handouts about children’s vision that you can share with families:

• Signs of Possible Vision Problems in Children
• Children’s Vision – Digital Screen Tips
• Small Steps for Big Vision toolkit/resources
• Importance of Vision Screening
• Finding an Eye Doctor

Food Worker Manual Update

Children are very susceptible to foodborne illness. The rules around food safety for Washington State were recently updated, so a new food worker manual was also developed. Child care providers are required by  WAC 110-300-0195  to follow the guidance in the Washington State Food Worker Manual to make sure that the foods that they serve to children are safe.   

Here is the link to the manual -  https://www.foodworkercard.wa.gov/fwcmanual, which is available in 13 different languages. Each page of the document can be printed individually to post or make a handout. There is also a QR code for each section that links to a video on the topic.

Updates include:

• Every child care serving food must have someone who is aware of the food safety requirements and oversees food safety. This is known as Active Managerial Control.  (page link)
• There is a requirement to be aware of the health of all workers engaged in food preparation or service.  Here is a link to the page of information on this topic (page link); review this information with staff and make sure they know what illnesses or symptoms (including norovirus) they must report. There is a tool that can help you with this (toolkit  document link).
• Potentially hazardous foods are now called “Temperature Control for Safety Foods.” The name has changed, but the foods are the same. (page link)
• The final cooking temperature for hamburger and sausage has changed from 155°F to 158°F.
• Date marking of certain refrigerator foods is now required. Once you open a product, you must mark it and use it within a week. (page link) Here is a link to a tool to help you establish a date-marking program (toolkit  document link). Freezing foods stops the clock. Using  date dots  is one way that you can quickly mark foods.
• Food Allergies – sesame has been recently added to the list of major food allergens. (page link)
• Having a “Diarrhea and Vomiting Clean up Plan” is a new requirement. Norovirus causes projectile vomiting, and the virus can become airborne; it also has a very low infectious dose. This makes it easy to spread in a child care environment. Here is some more information and a sample plan that you can tailor for your child care (page link) (toolkit  document link). Keep in mind that people who did the clean up should not prepare food (and ideally should go home and shower) and should be watched for 48 hours for signs of illness.

If you have any questions about food safety, the new food worker requirements, or would like a review of your child care’s food safety practices, please contact the Child Care Health Outreach program at 425-252-5415 or email  childcarehealth@snohd.org.

W is for Wash Your Hands

Teaching kids to wash their hands well is one of the best ways to reduce germs, especially with all of the messes little hands get into. Washing your hands might seem like a simple thing, but remember that it is a skill, and it has to be learned. Hands are an ideal place for germs to hitch a ride, so teaching kids to wash their hands is one of the best ways to keep them healthy. It may take time, patience, and reinforcement to teach them well. Find what works for your kids and stick with it.

More Reading: W is for Wash Your Hands

New Vroom^® Guide

For more information about Vroom and different Vroom Tips to try with the children in your care, visit www.vroom.org.