Tweet
About 24,000 Mississippi Coast students ? more than one-fourth of the school population ? are vaccinated against swine flu, a magic number for the health of all ages in the six-county region.
Health officials cite new studies that a 20 percent school vaccination rate means a 50 percent reduction in flu for the entire population.
That is because children are the biggest spreaders of the virus to siblings, parents, fellow students, baby-sitters or anyone who might come in contact with them in public.
Another 15,000 Coast residents of various ages are immunized against swine flu, and public health clinics continue to offer the vaccine free.
Across the state, the Mississippi State Department of Health reports 243,769 swine flu immunizations.
?If we succeed in preventing a third wave of the H1N1 virus this spring, it will be because of the winter school immunization programs and the way the community, schools and hospitals partnered with public health,? said Dr. Paul Travnicek, Coastal Plains District director for the Mississippi State Department of Health.
?Certainly we think there will be less flu because the school superintendents took a risk and stepped forward by allowing immunizations in the schools.?
Health officials cite new studies that a 20 percent school vaccination rate means a 50 percent reduction in flu for the entire population.
That is because children are the biggest spreaders of the virus to siblings, parents, fellow students, baby-sitters or anyone who might come in contact with them in public.
Another 15,000 Coast residents of various ages are immunized against swine flu, and public health clinics continue to offer the vaccine free.
Across the state, the Mississippi State Department of Health reports 243,769 swine flu immunizations.
?If we succeed in preventing a third wave of the H1N1 virus this spring, it will be because of the winter school immunization programs and the way the community, schools and hospitals partnered with public health,? said Dr. Paul Travnicek, Coastal Plains District director for the Mississippi State Department of Health.
?Certainly we think there will be less flu because the school superintendents took a risk and stepped forward by allowing immunizations in the schools.?
Comment