So the flu is everywhere.

“It’s in schools, churches, shopping malls, grocery stores . . .” said South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesman Jim Beasley earlier this week.

The illness is so widespread, the probability of coming into contact with someone who has the new H1N1 virus — or swine flu — is nearly 100 percent.

“Generally speaking, the virus is everywhere,” Beasley said. “It’s widespread and that’s why we all have to take precautions against it.”

Precautions, yes, but in speaking with some of Union County’s largest employers, the county and the Union County School District, while the flu is still widespread and continuing to infect people of the state, there hasn’t been that large of an impact seen here.

Timken USA Human Resources Manager Eric Holland and the company’s nurse Mary Arnold reported this week the bearings manufacturer has only seen a few of its roughly 400 employees out sick or staying home to take care of family members who are sick.

“We’ve had some out of work,” Arnold said, but estimated the number of employees the flu has affected one way or the other at less than 10.

Timken did attempt to get the H1N1 flu vaccine for employees but was unable to secure any. It still offers employees the opportunity to get the seasonal flu shot, however, Holland reported the manufacturer only received about 50 percent of its seasonal flu vaccine allocation this year.

At the Dollar General Stores Distribution Center in Jonesville, senior human resources manager Bill Norwood also said the flu has had a minimal impact on his employees.

“We have one here and one there, but it hasn’t been anything out of the norm,” Norwood said about employees who have been sick or out taking care of a family member who is.

The distribution center employs roughly 425 people and, like Timken USA, attempted to get the H1N1 vaccine but was denied. Dollar General does also provide employees the chance to get a seasonal flu shot, but Norwood said even getting that this year has been difficult.

“We haven’t even got that,” he said. “The companies that are making the H1N1 vaccine also make the seasonal flu shot.”

With such high demand for the swine flu vaccine, Norwood said the pharmaceutical companies have put the seasonal shot on the back burner causing it to be delayed reaching his plant and forcing the distribution center to push back when it can offer its employees the seasonal vaccine.

When Tommy Sinclair took office last month as Union County Supervisor he made it a point to ask health care officials if the H1N1 flu was an issue for the county.

The response at the time was not really and that’s held true to now. Sinclair reported Thursday that the spread of the new flu hasn’t really affected the operations of the county or its employees to a level that’s needed to be brought to his attention.

He also attended a meeting Wednesday of human resource professionals from around the county and the subject of the flu didn’t even come up in conversation.

The school district, on the other hand, has seen an impact from the new flu strain; however, most of it happened nearly two months ago.

“It peaked with us as of September, as far as illnesses for faculty and students,” said school district safety and security coordinator Randy Crocker. “Now, it’s actually down.”

One school had 30 children out in one week due to the flu in September, but he said at the moment it’s not too much of an issue. Crocker said the school district is taking precautions to stop the spread of the bug by sending a student or even faculty member or employee home right away if they are exhibiting flu-like symptoms and using cleaning solutions that will kill the H1N1 and other flu strains within minutes.

The district, of course, also is following all hand-washing guidelines for children and employees.

Crocker admitted, while the flu isn’t that much of a problem now that doesn’t mean it can’t return. And if the school district were ever to get into a situation where illness started to increase rapidly, he and his staff could get foggers that would kill the virus within seconds.

“If we see an increase, I’m sure we’ll do some of those measures,” Crocker said. “It may come back, but we’re not seeing much now.”

The flu impact seemed to peak a couple months ago for Wallace Thomson Hospital as well.

“ER visits increased 30 percent at an all time high of 2,018 patients during September.” said hospital infection control and employee health/staff development director Emily Cannon. “October returned to normal with approximately 1,538 patients visiting the ER.”

She added, however, between the ER and CHA physician practices the hospital still sees patients daily exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

“However, so far it has not been an increase so large that it has affected our daily routines or our ability to care for patients,” she said.

Cannon also said Wallace Thomson has taken several initiatives to control the spread of the flu.

“We are limiting visitors under the age of 18. We are asking that the public please comply with this regulation that will most likely be in place at least until the end of the cold and flu season,” she said. “Children under 18 will be asked not to go up to our patient units; this is to protect both the children and our patients. Under no circumstances will children be admitted to our OB unit until cold and flu season is over.”

The hospital also is actively vaccinating all of its employees and has extended that offer to the spouses and children of employees.

So the H1N1 flu’s impact in Union County, while it’s most definitely here, has lessened for the time being. And don’t forget the seasonal flu is on an eastward march from the west coast right now and should arrive here sometime in December.

There have only been three confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in Union County, but more than that had a positive rapid flu test or flu-like symptoms that were most likely H1N1, according to Cannon.

“As of the end of September, DHEC reported that there were 29,881 persons in Union County with flu-like symptoms,” she said. “This number is surely larger at this time but data has not been published yet. It is difficult for public health to have a true number on how many people actually have the flu or flu-like symptoms as many ill persons do not seek medical attention.”