Boards should strategize for possible H1N1 outbreak
By Del Stover
Fall 09 -- School boards already should be working with public health officials on plans to combat new outbreaks of the H1N1 influenza virus this fall.
That’s the word coming from state and federal officials who see schools as an important line of defense against a virus that appears to have a greater impact on children than the typical seasonal flu.
This fall, schools might well be called upon to serve as vaccine distribution centers -- host to a mass inoculation of children not seen since the polio vaccine was distributed in the 1950s.
“The big message for schools opening in the fall is that H1N1 -- also known as swine flu -- has not gone away,” says Brenda Z. Greene, director of NSBA’s school health programs. “It’s imperative that schools be well prepared to deal with it.”
Those preparations should include ongoing planning with local public health agencies on prevention strategies, the reporting of possible flu cases, and development of a communications plan to respond to concerned parents -- and media inquiries -- if an outbreak is reported at a school. In fact, communicating with parents and others about plans ahead of an outbreak is recommended.
Schools staffs also should be trained to quickly segregate students and staff members with flu-like symptoms and have contingency plans in place should the need arise to close schools for an extended period.
To date, about 37,000 cases of swine flu have been reported in the U.S., with 211 deaths, although officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that as many as 1 million Americans actually have been infected this year.
Although many infected with the virus report symptoms similar to a seasonal flu, health officials are concerned about the potential for more serious illnesses, particularly among vulnerable populations including children.
Officials also are alarmed by the rapid spread of this strain of the flu. The first outbreaks appeared in Mexico and Southern California in April but quickly spread to other countries.
It was this rapid spread of the virus -- more so than concerns about its severity -- that prompted the World Health Organization to declare a worldwide pandemic alert.
With the possibility that colder weather will fuel more widespread outbreaks of H1N1, school officials are advised by the CDC to respond quickly if students or teachers exhibit flu-like symptoms, emphasizing the importance of segregating them from others in school and sending them home.
“Social distancing remains the key strategy for reducing the spread of H1N1,” Greene says. “That means if kids or teachers are identified as being sick, they need to be secluded -- not just left in the main office where people come and go.”
Also, in the unlikely event of a widespread outbreak -- or the appearance of a more deadly strain of the virus -- officials should be ready to close schools, health officials say. Preparations also should be made for sending home schoolwork or arranging online lessons to minimize the disruption to the school year.
“You should have in place plans for the continuity of education,” Greene says. “If you have to close for a week or more, schools should make sure they have a plan ready to go.”
For now, the CDC advises schools to close only if, “there is a magnitude of faculty or student absenteeism that interferes with the school’s ability to function.”
At a “flu preparedness summit” at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., health officials announced hopes of making 80 million doses of a vaccine available by mid-October, with children among the first targeted for receiving it. Officials noted that schools were a logical location for dispensing the vaccine.
Talk of mass inoculations -- and the use of school campuses to administer vaccines -- raises a host of logistical questions for local school officials. Senior NSBA staff members already have met with officials in the U.S. Department of Education and CDC to discuss these issues.
Meanwhile, NSBA, through its School Health Programs, is surveying National Affiliate-member school districts about their concerns should health agencies request schools help with a mass inoculation effort, Greene says.
Reproduced with permission from School Board News. Copyright © 2009, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789.