Are Chenango schools prepared for H1N1?
NORWICH – Chenango County’s school district officials are scheduled to meet with the director of the county’s public health department early this month to receive an update on the H1N1 influenza.
Like most districts, the Norwich City School District hasn’t issued an advisory about the world’s newest flu strain to parents and staff since the end of the school year in June.
Two cases were reported in the NCSD and less than a dozen confirmed throughout the county after swine flu began to spread in the Northeast last year. “We are cautiously awaiting to see what happens here over the course of the fall,” said District Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan.
Last week, the White House estimated that up to 90,000 Americans could die of swine flu this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that children were at greatest risk of being infected with H1N1 (14 times more likely than adults over age 60) and that babies and toddlers were most likely to be hospitalized with severe complications.
The CDC is advising schools not to close when cases are detected, but instead to take preventative measures such as mandating hand washing and regular door knob sanitizing.
“We don’t anticipate that we will require them (school officials) to take a specific direction for their school. They can decide,” Chenango County Public Health Director Marcas Flindt said. “But if a student is sick, they should stay home and not return for 24 hours after their fever has subsided.”
Flindt said there’s “no question” the disease would pick up this fall and winter. However, he cautions people from panicking, advising them to be concerned “at the same level as they are concerned every year about seasonal flu.”
“The swine flu is just a seasonal flu with a little bit of a genetic bent to it. It’s hard for the public to put this in perspective. We want people to be aware and take precautions, but there certainly is not the need for panic,” he said.
The CDC is doing human trials to determine the safety and effectiveness of a new vaccine developed to guard against the illness. Testing began just three weeks ago, and the go-ahead for immunization is expected in November.
The public health department plans to kick off their annual flu clinics a little earlier this year in order to compensate for administering the additional vaccine, which will require two shots, when it comes in. The first clinic will be held Sept. 30 at the Norwich Family YMCA.
“The swine flu clinics have not yet been establilshed because we’re not sure how many doses of H1N1 we will ultimately receive,” Flindt said.
According to the CDC’s website, a shortage of the Novel H1N1 vaccine isn’t expected but, depending on availability and demand, there is some possibility that initially the vaccine will be available in limited quantities. People within the following groups should be prioritized:
• Pregnant women because they are at higher risk of complications and can potentially provide protection to infants who cannot be vaccinated;
• Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than six months of age because younger infants are at higher risk of influenza-related complications and cannot be vaccinated. Vaccination of those in close contact with infants less than 6 months old might help protect infants by “cocooning” them from the virus;
• Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel because infections among healthcare workers have been reported and this can be a potential source of infection for vulnerable patients. Also, increased absenteeism in this population could reduce healthcare system capacity;
• All people from 6 months through 24 years of age
• Children from 6 months through 18 years of age because we have seen many cases of novel H1N1 influenza in children and they are in close contact with each other in school and day care settings, which increases the likelihood of disease spread, and
• Young adults 19 through 24 years of age because we have seen many cases of novel H1N1 influenza in these healthy young adults and they often live, work, and study in close proximity, and they are a frequently mobile population; and,
• Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.
Like most districts, the Norwich City School District hasn’t issued an advisory about the world’s newest flu strain to parents and staff since the end of the school year in June.
Two cases were reported in the NCSD and less than a dozen confirmed throughout the county after swine flu began to spread in the Northeast last year. “We are cautiously awaiting to see what happens here over the course of the fall,” said District Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan.
Last week, the White House estimated that up to 90,000 Americans could die of swine flu this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that children were at greatest risk of being infected with H1N1 (14 times more likely than adults over age 60) and that babies and toddlers were most likely to be hospitalized with severe complications.
The CDC is advising schools not to close when cases are detected, but instead to take preventative measures such as mandating hand washing and regular door knob sanitizing.
“We don’t anticipate that we will require them (school officials) to take a specific direction for their school. They can decide,” Chenango County Public Health Director Marcas Flindt said. “But if a student is sick, they should stay home and not return for 24 hours after their fever has subsided.”
Flindt said there’s “no question” the disease would pick up this fall and winter. However, he cautions people from panicking, advising them to be concerned “at the same level as they are concerned every year about seasonal flu.”
“The swine flu is just a seasonal flu with a little bit of a genetic bent to it. It’s hard for the public to put this in perspective. We want people to be aware and take precautions, but there certainly is not the need for panic,” he said.
The CDC is doing human trials to determine the safety and effectiveness of a new vaccine developed to guard against the illness. Testing began just three weeks ago, and the go-ahead for immunization is expected in November.
The public health department plans to kick off their annual flu clinics a little earlier this year in order to compensate for administering the additional vaccine, which will require two shots, when it comes in. The first clinic will be held Sept. 30 at the Norwich Family YMCA.
“The swine flu clinics have not yet been establilshed because we’re not sure how many doses of H1N1 we will ultimately receive,” Flindt said.
According to the CDC’s website, a shortage of the Novel H1N1 vaccine isn’t expected but, depending on availability and demand, there is some possibility that initially the vaccine will be available in limited quantities. People within the following groups should be prioritized:
• Pregnant women because they are at higher risk of complications and can potentially provide protection to infants who cannot be vaccinated;
• Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than six months of age because younger infants are at higher risk of influenza-related complications and cannot be vaccinated. Vaccination of those in close contact with infants less than 6 months old might help protect infants by “cocooning” them from the virus;
• Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel because infections among healthcare workers have been reported and this can be a potential source of infection for vulnerable patients. Also, increased absenteeism in this population could reduce healthcare system capacity;
• All people from 6 months through 24 years of age
• Children from 6 months through 18 years of age because we have seen many cases of novel H1N1 influenza in children and they are in close contact with each other in school and day care settings, which increases the likelihood of disease spread, and
• Young adults 19 through 24 years of age because we have seen many cases of novel H1N1 influenza in these healthy young adults and they often live, work, and study in close proximity, and they are a frequently mobile population; and,
• Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.
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