Commonground
Senior Moderator
By Christine Legere Globe Correspondent / September 17, 2009
Most Baby Boomers recall rolling up a sleeve and getting in line, as schoolchildren, for a quick stick in the arm aimed at fighting the polio epidemic of the 1950s. And this fall, some schools north of Boston will employ similar measures to inoculate students against both seasonal flu and the H1N1 strain that arrived in Massachusetts last spring.
The H1N1 flu has characteristics that resemble the seasonal flu: fever, cough, runny nose, and body aches. But the President?s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology estimates the new virus could cause as many as 90,000 deaths in the United States this flu season. So far, Massachusetts has had more than 1,400 confirmed cases and 11 deaths.
The 5- to 24-year-old group has been the hardest hit by H1N1, also known as swine flu, with the median age being 14 years old, according to the state Department of Public Health.
State and federal health workers agree preventive measures like frequent hand-washing and proper cough etiquette are helpful. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently noted H1N1 will be most effectively contained by ?vaccinating as many people as possible as quickly as possible.??
School offers an ideal venue for mass inoculation of a group at the top of the risk chart.
The Gloucester and Lynn school districts already have aggressive plans in place that call for inoculating students in all grades for both seasonal and H1N1. That latter vaccine is expected to become available in mid-October. Salem and Somerville, meanwhile, will offer family flu clinics for the seasonal strain, and will limit inoculations during school for H1N1.
Andover is discussing seasonal flu inoculations for middle and high school students, but has yet to talk about H1N1 shots. Methuen is offering seasonal flu mist for middle and high school students as part of a pilot program, but there has been no decision yet on H1N1 inoculations.
Lowell is also stalled in discussion. The city?s health director, Frank Singleton, said he?s already got 5,000 doses of seasonal flu vaccine earmarked for the school system. ?It would be for the middle school and high school if we do it,?? Singleton said. ?There was a School Committee meeting last week where they clearly didn?t give it a green light, and it also needs the approval of the superintendent.??
If the program is approved, consent letters would have to be sent to parents. ?And then we would have to figure out who?s giving the shot,?? Singleton said. He said the process may take too much time. ?It?s not like the polio days where kids got the shot and you didn?t have to worry about parent permission.??
Cindy Juncker, the nurse leader for the Gloucester schools, said permission slips for seasonal flu shots for all of the district?s 3,500 students already have been sent to homes. ?We?re getting a tremendous response,?? Juncker said. ?We?ll do the inoculating from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. School nurse personnel will help, and they?ve hired one outside nurse to assist. As soon as H1N1 vaccine becomes available we?ll send out the consent forms, and begin round two.??
Lynn has 13,500 children in its public schools and 2,000 in private schools, according to city health director Mary Ann O?Connor. Vaccine for both seasonal and H1N1 will be offered to students in all grades. ?Letters went home in English, Spanish, and Khmer this week,?? O?Connor said. ?Once they come back, we?ll notify [the Department of Public Health] about the number of doses needed.??
The Salem School District?s lead nurse, Mary Egan, said letters strongly encouraging parents to get seasonal flu shots for their children will be sent home. ?Our focus here is on H1N1,?? Egan said. ?We?re looking at doing it for the whole school system during school hours.??
Paulette Renault-Caragianes, Somerville?s Health Department director, said the city historically schedules ample family flu clinics for the seasonal strain. ?For H1N1 we?ll do inoculations during school for third grade through high school,?? Renault-Caragianes said. ?The rationale is that school gives us a great venue for reaching that population.??
Brian LaGrasse, Methuen health director, said the seasonal flu shots will be administered to middle and high schoolers through a private firm at a cost of $35 per dose. ?Right now we?ve back-burnered H1N1 while we focus on seasonal,?? he said. There are no plans for H1N1 inoculations at the city?s schools.
Rita Casper, director of nursing for the Andover schools, said officials are looking to give seasonal flu doses in grades 5 through high school, ?but we need to determine a way to do it.?? She noted the high school has 1,800 students who are overseen by one nurse and one health assistant. ?For H1N1, we will work with the town on family clinics and general clinics, but we?re waiting to see how much vaccine will be available.??
State Department of Health spokeswoman Jennifer Manley said her agency is providing information to school systems on flu symptoms, guidelines for care, and requirements for allowing children back in school. ?The guideline is that, when they come back, they will have to have been fever-free for 24 hours without the help of any fever reducers,?? Manley said. ?We?ll be depending on parents.??
http://www.boston.com/news/health/a..._formulating_plans_to_combat_h1n1_flu/?page=1
Most Baby Boomers recall rolling up a sleeve and getting in line, as schoolchildren, for a quick stick in the arm aimed at fighting the polio epidemic of the 1950s. And this fall, some schools north of Boston will employ similar measures to inoculate students against both seasonal flu and the H1N1 strain that arrived in Massachusetts last spring.
The H1N1 flu has characteristics that resemble the seasonal flu: fever, cough, runny nose, and body aches. But the President?s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology estimates the new virus could cause as many as 90,000 deaths in the United States this flu season. So far, Massachusetts has had more than 1,400 confirmed cases and 11 deaths.
The 5- to 24-year-old group has been the hardest hit by H1N1, also known as swine flu, with the median age being 14 years old, according to the state Department of Public Health.
State and federal health workers agree preventive measures like frequent hand-washing and proper cough etiquette are helpful. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently noted H1N1 will be most effectively contained by ?vaccinating as many people as possible as quickly as possible.??
School offers an ideal venue for mass inoculation of a group at the top of the risk chart.
The Gloucester and Lynn school districts already have aggressive plans in place that call for inoculating students in all grades for both seasonal and H1N1. That latter vaccine is expected to become available in mid-October. Salem and Somerville, meanwhile, will offer family flu clinics for the seasonal strain, and will limit inoculations during school for H1N1.
Andover is discussing seasonal flu inoculations for middle and high school students, but has yet to talk about H1N1 shots. Methuen is offering seasonal flu mist for middle and high school students as part of a pilot program, but there has been no decision yet on H1N1 inoculations.
Lowell is also stalled in discussion. The city?s health director, Frank Singleton, said he?s already got 5,000 doses of seasonal flu vaccine earmarked for the school system. ?It would be for the middle school and high school if we do it,?? Singleton said. ?There was a School Committee meeting last week where they clearly didn?t give it a green light, and it also needs the approval of the superintendent.??
If the program is approved, consent letters would have to be sent to parents. ?And then we would have to figure out who?s giving the shot,?? Singleton said. He said the process may take too much time. ?It?s not like the polio days where kids got the shot and you didn?t have to worry about parent permission.??
Cindy Juncker, the nurse leader for the Gloucester schools, said permission slips for seasonal flu shots for all of the district?s 3,500 students already have been sent to homes. ?We?re getting a tremendous response,?? Juncker said. ?We?ll do the inoculating from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. School nurse personnel will help, and they?ve hired one outside nurse to assist. As soon as H1N1 vaccine becomes available we?ll send out the consent forms, and begin round two.??
Lynn has 13,500 children in its public schools and 2,000 in private schools, according to city health director Mary Ann O?Connor. Vaccine for both seasonal and H1N1 will be offered to students in all grades. ?Letters went home in English, Spanish, and Khmer this week,?? O?Connor said. ?Once they come back, we?ll notify [the Department of Public Health] about the number of doses needed.??
The Salem School District?s lead nurse, Mary Egan, said letters strongly encouraging parents to get seasonal flu shots for their children will be sent home. ?Our focus here is on H1N1,?? Egan said. ?We?re looking at doing it for the whole school system during school hours.??
Paulette Renault-Caragianes, Somerville?s Health Department director, said the city historically schedules ample family flu clinics for the seasonal strain. ?For H1N1 we?ll do inoculations during school for third grade through high school,?? Renault-Caragianes said. ?The rationale is that school gives us a great venue for reaching that population.??
Brian LaGrasse, Methuen health director, said the seasonal flu shots will be administered to middle and high schoolers through a private firm at a cost of $35 per dose. ?Right now we?ve back-burnered H1N1 while we focus on seasonal,?? he said. There are no plans for H1N1 inoculations at the city?s schools.
Rita Casper, director of nursing for the Andover schools, said officials are looking to give seasonal flu doses in grades 5 through high school, ?but we need to determine a way to do it.?? She noted the high school has 1,800 students who are overseen by one nurse and one health assistant. ?For H1N1, we will work with the town on family clinics and general clinics, but we?re waiting to see how much vaccine will be available.??
State Department of Health spokeswoman Jennifer Manley said her agency is providing information to school systems on flu symptoms, guidelines for care, and requirements for allowing children back in school. ?The guideline is that, when they come back, they will have to have been fever-free for 24 hours without the help of any fever reducers,?? Manley said. ?We?ll be depending on parents.??
http://www.boston.com/news/health/a..._formulating_plans_to_combat_h1n1_flu/?page=1