Secretary of Education urges students to get vaccinated

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Yale Daily News


<HR>Published: Friday, December 4, 2009

Secretary of Education urges students to get vaccinated

By Egidio DiBenedetto
Contributing Reporter


In a conference call Thursday with college reporters across the country, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan reminded students to remain vigilant in protecting themselves against contracting the virus.

?While we?ve seen a dip nationwide in the number of H1N1 cases reported, that still can change at any time,? Duncan said. ?Flu season is just beginning, and the best way to prevent getting sick is to get vaccinated.?

Yale University Health Services received 1,500 new swine flu vaccines this week, Yale University Health Services Director Paul Genecin said. While the number of reported cases of flu-like illnesses at Yale have been falling, Genecin said YUHS still hopes to vaccinate as many people as soon as possible. Although YUHS reported several hundred cases per week last month, this number has fallen sharply in December, Genecin said.

There have been 1,900 reported cases of flu-like illnesses at Yale since Sept. 1, Genecin said Thursday night.

Because of the frequency with which college students come in contact with roommates, friends, professors and classmates, Duncan said students should get vaccinated immediately.

?Ideally, we want students to get vaccinated before the holiday break, even though they might be busy with final exams,? Duncan said. ?If not, they should definitely get vaccinated over [winter] break.?

Duncan said students should take simple measures ? such as wiping common surfaces with antibacterial wipes, washing their hands, and covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze ? to reduce the chances of spreading the flu, Duncan said.

College students are one of the five groups most at risk to contract the swine flu, according to the CDC. The other four groups are pregnant women, health care workers, people who live with or care for infants, and adults ages 25 to 65 with underlying chronic conditions such as asthma.

According to the American College Health Association, of which Yale is a member, there were about 1,000 new cases of flu-like illnesses last week, compared to nearly 4,000 the previous week.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/city-news/2009/12/04/secretary-education-urges-students-get-vaccinated.print

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Re: Secretary of Education urges students to get vaccinated

College students encouraged to get H1N1 vaccine

By Sally Holland, CNN<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>cnnAuthor = "By Sally Holland, CNN";</SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>if(location.hostname.indexOf( 'edition.' ) > -1) {document.write('December 4, 2009 -- Updated 0636 GMT (1436 HKT)');} else {document.write('December 4, 2009 1:36 a.m. EST');}</SCRIPT>December 4, 2009 1:36 a.m. ESTDecember 4, 2009


Washington (CNN) -- Chris Edwards' fever spiked at 104 degrees this fall before he was sent home from Frostburg State University in western Maryland to recuperate from the H1N1 flu.

"It scared most of my family more than it scared me," the freshman information technology major told CNN in a telephone interview Thursday. "For me, it was regular sick."

He is one of many students at U.S. colleges who have tested positive for H1N1 -- also known as swine flu -- in recent months. To help cut down on the spread of the disease, the U.S. Department of Education has begun encouraging college students to get vaccinated.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that officials would like to see college students inoculated before they head home for Christmas break. And if exam schedules make that impossible, students should try to get the vaccine while they are at home, he said.

As another tactic to cut down on the spread of H1N1, Duncan said his department is urging college teachers to be flexible with students who get sick, so they are not afraid to miss classes.

"If you are sick, this is highly contagious and we really need you home getting well before you return to class," Duncan told a group of college newspaper reporters.

Edwards can attest to how difficult that can be. After missing a week of school, he said, "It took me a long time to catch up."

The Department of Education said its most recent check of elementary and secondary schools found none were closed because of the H1N1 virus. That's a big change from a peak in late October of more than 450 schools closed, affecting over 350,000 students across the United States.

However, officials warn it is too soon to relax.

"Although flu is going down, it's far from gone," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Thomas Frieden said Monday, pointing out that flu season lasts until May.

"Only time will tell what the rest of the season will bring," he said. "There are still lots of kids who are sick and lots of people who are at risk of getting influenza and end(ing) up getting severely ill from it."

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/04/h1n1.colleges/index.html?eref=edition_us