By Jeff Hansel

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

Pretend you teach ethics.

How would you answer these questions:

• Your children have flu symptoms. Can they go to a championship game?

• Neighbors on your block get pandemic H1N1. All get sick at the same time. Will you go out of your way to help them?

• You think you have H1N1. Will you stay at home to protect others from the potentially deadly illness?

"We've been focusing a lot on the government's responsibilities. But we haven't been spending a lot of time on individuals' responsibilities," said Jeffrey Kahn, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota.

He says Minnesotans have an ethical obligation to prevent others from getting sick, and to safely help others if possible. That might mean telling your sick teen his key senior football game is off limits. Or you might have to live off whatever's in the freezer until your own symptoms are gone. You might also have to pay attention to neighbors and help when they're sick.

"Pick up the phone and say, 'Is there anything I can go to the grocery store and get for you?'" Kahn said. Deliver to the doorstep, keeping yourself safe while helping the neighbors.

Kahn wants community members to consider their risk from H1N1 and decide when to get vaccinated. If the first Minnesota vaccine for the general public is for people with underlying health conditions, you have an obligation to respond appropriately, he said.

Kahn also says people should make a commitment now that they will not run out and "stockpile" supplies if a shortage occurs during the pandemic. Lastly, he says, think about how you might be a responsible part of the community in which you live "in ways that won't be at all risky."

"We have friends who all got sick at the same time," Kahn said. "We're friends and we talked to them on the phone and said, 'What can we do for you?'"

Reporter Jeff Hansel covers health for the Post-Bulletin. Read his blog, Pulse on Health.

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