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If H1N1 hits the Albuquerque Fire Department hard, it could jeopardize their ability to get to residents in an emergency, but the department is offering vaccinations and making other preparations to prevent that from happening. At all of the city's fire stations, it's all about extra gloves, masks, hand sanitizer, and vaccinations. At the Albuquerque Fire Academy, more than a dozen cadets lined up Thursday for something that many firefighters are eager to get their hands on: the H1N1 vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine. The Albuquerque Fire Department got 600 doses of H1N1 vaccine for firefighters. So far, 300 have been vaccinated— it's not mandatory. Over the past month, 24 firefighters have called in sick. Six had flu-like symptoms, and the rest to deal with sick family members. There have been no confirmed H1N1 cases in the department, the number of sick firefighters is up. Commander Tige Watson said, "The numbers have been slightly up, but it's not at a level that we feel there should be an alarm sounded." Fire crews are taking extra precautions, however, stocking up on gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer. Paramedic Driver Anthony Romero is concerned about dealing with patients. "That's what all of this equipment is for," Romero said. "That's where we use the gloves, and masks, goggles sometimes." Commander Watson said, "We have to remain concerned. We're trying to remain vigilant. We're hoping that we have seen the worst of it, but just like everyone else, we're not sure." The World Health Organization says the H1N1 virus is now the main flu strain worldwide. The WHO says in some countries, H1N1 accounts for up to 70% of the flu viruses being sampled. The organization says the virus is mutating very little, and samples from around the world remain very similar to when the virus was first identified in April. [www.clipsyndicate.com | KOB Albuquerque]

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