Douglas County held a ceremony Friday to honor volunteers that donated their time during the H1N1 outbreak but Public Health Officer Deb Clasen says the threat of the third wave of the virus still looms over Northwest Wisconsin.

“The reason we picked this time frame within our public health emergency, because keep in mind we are still under a national public health emergency for the H1N1 influenza, but we thought it would be a very good time because right now the virus is still out there circulating but it’s on the lower side of the bell curve. So it’s like recognizing people for their hard work before we have a very potential wave that’ll again challenge us to no end working, often times, 7 days a week.”

Clasen says it can not be predicted when the third wave will occur.

“We don’t know what we don’t know, regarding will the virus stay the same in terms of its virility? Will the virus become more prevalent? Earlier? Later? The best comment I can make at this time is that we’re prepared and just based on the response we had from our volunteers and all of our partners throughout the county, we’ll go that extra mile; whatever it takes to make sure that our county residents have this support.”

Student Health Counselor and Coordinator Dacia Selzler says the UW- Superior campus hasn’t had many calls this semester concerning the virus. Last semester, it was a different story. 30 students had already reported symptoms of the virus by the end of September.

“It’s been pretty quiet,” says Selzler. “We’re continuing to take the same steps we took last semester like prevention outreach.”

Selzler says students should continue to take precautions against the virus. Clasen offered additional advice.

“Elevated, enhanced hand hygiene, covering your cough, and by all means, if you haven’t gotten the immunization, there’s plenty of vaccine out there through medical clinics and also through our public health service for both the H1N1 and the seasonal influenza.”

The next H1N1 vaccination clinic will be Wednesday from 1– 3:30 PM at Northwest Wisconsin Community Action on Tower Avenue.