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Oklahoma County woman dies from swine flu
by: SEAN MURPHY Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
10/7/2009 5:23:46 PM
NEWCASTLE ? Dozens of Newcastle Elementary School students received some of the first doses of the swine flu vaccination in Oklahoma on Wednesday as the virus continued to take its toll on the state, resulting in school closings and another death.
The Oklahoma City-County Health Department confirmed on Wednesday the death of an adult woman who they said had an underlying medical condition. Her death is the fifth in the state attributed to the novel H1N1, or swine flu, virus.
In Newcastle in McClain County, children lined up beginning at noon to receive some of the first of 21,100 doses of the FluMist nasal spray vaccine shipped to the state this week. The doses were distributed to county health departments based on population.
Most of the youngsters winced briefly and expressed relief they weren't getting a shot as health care workers sent one blast of the spray into each nostril.
Jan O'Brien, whose 4-year-old grandson, Christian Neidel, was one of the first in line for the vaccine, said she wanted to take every precaution to keep him from getting the swine flu.
"It's hard if both parents are working ? if they have to take a couple of days off, that's a couple of days without pay," she said. "We thought it was just wonderful that the school was offering this."
Health officials specifically targeted school-age children, particularly in schools with high absenteeism as a result of flulike symptoms, said Don Blose, chief of the Oklahoma Department of Health's immunization service.
"The thought is if we can get it in school-age children quickly enough, particularly in areas that have already experienced increases in H1N1 activity, we may be able to protect a good part of the community," he said.
Meanwhile, White Rock School District in Lincoln County canceled classes for the remainder of the week after almost 50 percent of their students were absent on Tuesday, said Shelly Hickman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education.
Ketchum Adventist Academy, a private school in Craig County, also canceled classes this week, and two other public school districts ? Haworth in McCurtain County and Roff in Pontotoc County ? were closed for several days last week.
Oklahoma is scheduled to receive another 44,000 doses of the vaccine next week, including some injectable doses that can be used for pregnant women and other high-risk people.
by: SEAN MURPHY Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
10/7/2009 5:23:46 PM
NEWCASTLE ? Dozens of Newcastle Elementary School students received some of the first doses of the swine flu vaccination in Oklahoma on Wednesday as the virus continued to take its toll on the state, resulting in school closings and another death.
The Oklahoma City-County Health Department confirmed on Wednesday the death of an adult woman who they said had an underlying medical condition. Her death is the fifth in the state attributed to the novel H1N1, or swine flu, virus.
In Newcastle in McClain County, children lined up beginning at noon to receive some of the first of 21,100 doses of the FluMist nasal spray vaccine shipped to the state this week. The doses were distributed to county health departments based on population.
Most of the youngsters winced briefly and expressed relief they weren't getting a shot as health care workers sent one blast of the spray into each nostril.
Jan O'Brien, whose 4-year-old grandson, Christian Neidel, was one of the first in line for the vaccine, said she wanted to take every precaution to keep him from getting the swine flu.
"It's hard if both parents are working ? if they have to take a couple of days off, that's a couple of days without pay," she said. "We thought it was just wonderful that the school was offering this."
Health officials specifically targeted school-age children, particularly in schools with high absenteeism as a result of flulike symptoms, said Don Blose, chief of the Oklahoma Department of Health's immunization service.
"The thought is if we can get it in school-age children quickly enough, particularly in areas that have already experienced increases in H1N1 activity, we may be able to protect a good part of the community," he said.
Meanwhile, White Rock School District in Lincoln County canceled classes for the remainder of the week after almost 50 percent of their students were absent on Tuesday, said Shelly Hickman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education.
Ketchum Adventist Academy, a private school in Craig County, also canceled classes this week, and two other public school districts ? Haworth in McCurtain County and Roff in Pontotoc County ? were closed for several days last week.
Oklahoma is scheduled to receive another 44,000 doses of the vaccine next week, including some injectable doses that can be used for pregnant women and other high-risk people.
