The Administration of Holy Communion

during a time of Pandemic Flu

Our practice at St. Cuthbert’s:
 follow the government's advice on hygiene - don't cough and
sneeze over each other; use disposable tissues, and bin them
carefully. If you've been infected or have been in close contact
with someone who is infected, then it's responsible to stay
away from other people if you can. Wash your hands.
 most infection that's not airborne is by contagion, i.e. hand to
nose / mouth. So we should use the Peace to value one
another - we don't need to shake hands. Instead, make eye-
contact, smile, acknowledge one another... We know some
people want to shake hands. But no one should feel that they
have to - so the recommendation is to refrain!
 guidance from our Bishop is that general administration of the
chalice should be withdrawn. So only the priest drinks from
the chalice. There is no intention that this should be a
permanent state of affairs; in fact we took delivery of a case of
Communion wine just two days before the advice was issued!
Holy Communion in one kind is sufficient, i.e. receiving the
Host. Receiving the Body of Christ, how could we think that
we do not at the same time receive his Precious Blood?
 people shouldn't feel that they have to shake the Vicar's hand
as they leave the church!
 alcohol hand-rub is available at the back of church (and the
priest himself uses it before the Offertory in addition to the
usual lavabo).

The risk of transmitting Swine Flu is no greater in a church

than in any other public place. Being conscious of those
church practices which might possibly increase the risk of
infection can in fact reduce that risk, since it makes us more
thoughtful of others and of what we do.
The scientific bit...
The flu virus is present in saliva and in droplets coughed or sneezed by an
infected person.i The virus is able to survive for up to 48 hours on hard
surfaces, up to 12 hours on soft surfaces and up to 10 minutes on hands.ii This
means that a person who coughs into his or her hand and then touches another
person or an inanimate surface may transfer the virus. Anyone who touches
such surfaces and then touches his or her eyes, mouth or nose may be
susceptible to infection. Similarly anyone within a metre of an infected person
who coughs or sneezes is at risk of inhaling infected droplets.
A flu pandemic is associated with a viral strain against which the population
has little or no immunity. Because of this, contact with saliva or with droplets
from the lips or the fingers of an infected person which have been transferred
to the surface of the common cup, is viewed with concern. Experiments have
shown that some viruses and bacteria survive such transmission and neither the
alcoholic content of wineiii nor the antiseptic qualities of noble metalsiv will
provide any protection against the flu virus. It is because of low immunity
against pandemic flu in the community and the flu virus’s ability to survive for
a significant period outside a host body that government advice is to refrain
from the administration of the common cup in the circumstances described
above.
Some have suggested that intinction is an acceptable alternative to the
common cup. Studies have, however, suggested that intinction may, in fact,
present a greater risk factor than the common cup.v Fingers, generally, carry a
higher level of contamination than lips, so bread handled by an infected person
and then dipped into a common cup will carry a risk of contaminating the
wine. Similarly, fingers may dip into the wine. Where only celebrants or
servers dip the wafer and then place it on a recipient’s tongue or in his or her
hands, there is a risk of the servers’ fingers becoming contaminated if the
recipient is carrying the virus.

i
Sullivan John, B. & Krieger, Gary, R (Ed.)., ‘Clinical Environmental Health and
Toxic Exposures, Second Edition’, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 2001, p522.
ii
‘The Prevention and Treatment of Viral Respiratory Disorders’, British Medical
Association, 2nd October 2007.
http://www.bma.org.uk/health_promotion_ethics/diseases/viralrespiratorydisorders.jsp
?page=3
iii
La Grange Loving, A., op. cit.
iv
Furlow Terrance, C. & Dougherty, Mark, J., op. cit.
v
Gould, David, H., Op. cit.