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Schools to offer swine flu vaccines
Cases have turned up in St. Mary's
Friday, Aug. 21, 2009
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Swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, first turned up in April in Maryland, when health officials reported probable cases in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties. Since then there have been several reported cases in St. Mary's and throughout most of the state, health officials said.
Health officials fear the virus could come back stronger in the fall and are working to have a vaccine ready by October. All of the public schools in St. Mary's plan to offer both seasonal flu vaccinations and H1N1 vaccinations to students.
There have been six reported deaths in Maryland linked to that flu strain, and more are expected as the traditional flu season approaches, officials said.
The swine flu has been particularly harmful to younger people, differing from the seasonal flu, which generally has a worst effect on the older population. For that reason, in part, health officials are pushing for more mass-vaccination efforts in schools, something St. Mary's has done successfully for several years.
"The general flu [vaccine] that we do every year, we are going to do that again this year," said Patricia Wince, supervisor of health services for the school system. More than 3,500 students have been vaccinated each of the last three years in elementary schools.
Those clinics will be expanded to include every public elementary, middle and high school in the county and are scheduled to start at the beginning of October and run Tuesdays and Thursdays.
"We will be able to administer to everyone as well if the H1N1 [vaccine] is available," she said.
That vaccine is not anticipated until mid- or late October. When it arrives, schools that have already given the seasonal flu vaccinations will schedule clinics to protect against the H1N1 virus.
The H1N1 vaccine is being tested now, Wince said, including University of Maryland. This vaccination will require a booster shot that must be given three to four weeks after the initial dose.
If there is ample supply of the H1N1 vaccine, everyone in the school system will have access to the vaccine for free.
"That's still up in the air a little bit," Wince said last week of the amount of vaccine St. Mary's will receive.
If supply is limited, students with chronic conditions and other risk factors will be vaccinated first.
"So far, what we're hearing is we think there's going to be an ample supple" of the H1N1 vaccine, said Diana McKinney, communicable disease program manager for the St. Mary's County Health Department. "The CDC is going to pay close attention as to how the H1N1 vaccine is used at the beginning."
The local health department is stocked with vaccines for the seasonal flu this year and there should be no shortage of that.
"We have seasonal flu pretty much nailed down," she said.
McKinney met with school nurses earlier this week to go over the latest plans.
Parochial school students are invited to come to a nearby public school to receive the vaccinations free of charge, as has been the case in previous years.
"We've been doing this for awhile now, so we have a great rapport with the school system and great support from the county commissioners," McKinney said.
For the seasonal flu, the vaccination can come in the form of a shot or through a mist sprayed directly into a person's nose.
"We give the children what's most medically appropriate," McKinney said.
Forms will be sent home the second week of school announcing specific vaccination dates. Parents who want their children to receive the free vaccinations must fill out a consent form that includes medical history.
Children with asthma or other chronic diseases could get the shot form of the vaccination; others would likely be eligible for the FluMist version, she said.
"We are expecting the number [of student vaccinations] to double this year" once middle and high schools are added and because of the prevalence of the H1N1 flu, she said.
McKinney said there have been several cases of H1N1 in St. Mary's, but that the mass testing that went on earlier this year is no longer needed now that it has been reported in every region of Maryland.
New guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focus on limiting the disruption of day-to-day school activities. In lieu of closing entire schools or school systems when a case is reported, parents are asked to keep sick children home from school until 24 hours after symptoms subside, McKinney said.
Symptoms of influenza include fever, cough and sore throat as well as chills, headache, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea or shortness of breath.
The CDC discontinued reporting of individual confirmed and probable cases of H1N1 infection on July 24 but will report the total number of hospitalizations and deaths weekly, and continue to use its traditional surveillance systems to track the progress of the outbreak.
