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Ryder Lewis, 3, and his 10-month-old brother, Rhett, are helped into Santa's lap by their father, Kevin Lewis, at the Old Mill District's Santa Land on Friday afternoon. Local Santas say they're taking extra precautions to avoid getting swine flu.
Pete Erickson / The Bulletin
If your child wants to meet Santa, first use hand sanitizer
Santas across Central Oregon try to stay jolly while being wary of swine flu concerns
By Erin Golden / The Bulletin
Published: November 28. 2009 4:00AM PSTThis year, when it's time for Curt Nitschelm to pose for photos and listen to children recite their Christmas wish lists at Redmond's Operation Santa Claus, he'll put on his red suit, adjust his white beard — and get ready to use plenty of hand sanitizer.
With the H1N1 virus — commonly known as swine flu — spreading quickly around the country, especially among young people, even Santa is taking extra precautions to keep from getting sick. The Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas recently held a seminar on swine flu prevention, and another group, Santa America, has asked lawmakers to make Santas a priority group for the swine flu vaccine.
Local health officials say there are no plans to make the men in red suits a priority group, but some of Central Oregon's Santas say they're planning to make flu prevention a priority this holiday season.
“One of the other Santas said he heard through the Santa alliance that we should use hand sanitizers and no gloves this year, and that's our plan,” Nitschelm said. “Our plan is, we're going to squirt everybody's hands (with sanitizer) as they come in the door and Santa is going to squirt his hands between sessions.”
At Bend's Old Mill District, which offers visitors a chance to meet with the jolly old elf in Santa Land, Marketing Director Noelle Fredland said staff members will be working hard to keep hands — and beards — sanitized.
“We've always taken a lot of precautions,” she said. “We have hand sanitizer in front of the house and back of the house, and we put something on all the beards between users. We do a number of things to make sure everything is sterilized.”
In Prineville, The Photo Stop owner Lori Henderson said she opted to change some of the backdrop around Santa's chair, where children can pose for photos.
Henderson said she decided to put a washable covering over Santa's chair and put in a hardwood floor instead of carpet, so it can be washed frequently. In addition, Henderson said she scaled back on some of the decorations, removing stuffed animals and other items that would be hard to clean.
She said Santa's helper will distribute individually wrapped candy canes that will be picked up with tongs, rather than by hand.
“We're talking about having the helper wear a glove, but that might make people uncomfortable, if it feels like a sci-fi movie,” she said.
Heather Kaisner, Deschutes County's immunization coordinator, said local Santas won't be able to jump ahead on the waiting list for swine flu vaccines, though she said they could be eligible if they meet other criteria, such as having other health conditions like asthma or heart disease.
Deschutes County spokeswoman Anna Johnson said children are generally at higher risk of contracting swine flu than people in Santa's age demographic, so parents should make good choices about when their children should go out in public and when they should stay home.
“It's important for parents, if the child is already sick or not feeling up to it, that they not take their child to any kind of group setting, not just this group setting,” she said.
Henderson said the swine flu outbreak has created some unique challenges for Santa — particularly in how he can keep the atmosphere jolly while asking everyone to clean their hands.
“We want it to be a fun experience, but with (an) epidemic going around, you want it to be clean and safe,” she said. “And you don't want to offend anybody.”
Erin Golden can be reached at 541-617-7837 or at egolden@bendbulletin.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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