Tomorrow is Halloween.
And with the H1N1 flu going around, some parents are afraid to let their kids go trick-or-treating.
But health officials say kids can share in the spirit of Halloween without sharing the germs.
Doctors say it doesn't take a lot of tricks to avoid the H1N1 but they do have a few simple tips.
It's hard enough worrying about the witches, ghosts, and goblins. But this Halloween, some parents are especially worried about scary germs like the swine flu virus.
But doctors say parents shouldn't have to worry if they play it safe.
"If you have a friend who is sick you obviously don't want to go trick or treating with them either. If you are sick you don't want to be exposing other people, so once again if you are passing out candy you shouldn't be coughing on people," said Dr. Vince Ritson, Castle Medical Center.
"We are seeing widespread outbreaks across the nation particularly in children," said Dr. Chiyome Fukino, State Dept. Of Health Director.
Fortunately though, Hawaii is not one of the 48 states that have widespread swine flu activity right now.
"Knock on wood. We have been lucky thus far," said Dr. Sarah Park, State Epidemiologist.
Today was the deadline for parents to turn in their consent forms to have their children get a swine flu vaccine shot at school.
Hawaii health officials say the CDC has allocated more than 100,000 doses of the vaccine to our state, but the shipments are arriving slower than anticipated.
"You should know that the vaccines are actually trickling into the states its not a flood of availability at the present time we are focusing on our priority groups," said Fukino.
"It's important for all of us to remember that its not just about the vaccines, vaccination is obviously very important but people should not forget about washing their hands, and if they are sick stay home," said Park.
Especially tomorrow night.
But bottom line -- use common sense.
"No mask sharing, no one of these teeth they put in their mouth, the dracula teeth, no sharing of that," said parent Mary Silva.
Also, instead of letting the trick-or-treaters reach into a bowl to grab their candy, doctors say put the treats into small bags or use a scoop.
That'll also help prevent the spread of germs.
