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http://www.contracostatimes.com/contracostacounty/ci_12914856
Bay Area health and school officials brace for swine flu
By Theresa Harrington and Sandy Kleffman
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 07/25/2009 03:01:30 PM PDT
Updated: 07/26/2009 06:55:30 AM PDT
As health departments brace for a possible increase in swine flu cases, schools are preparing to ramp up prevention and student absence tracking when classes resume during the next six weeks.
In Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties, school districts are following the lead of their county health leaders by reminding students and families about the importance of washing hands, coughing into sleeves and staying home when sick.
The Contra Costa County health department has asked districts to track student absences closely. Last spring, most county schools kept an eye on absences of 10 percent or more.
Districts have not agreed on a threshold for the coming year, said Jerry Glenn, superintendent of the Liberty Union High School District, which resumes classes Tuesday.
"Some superintendents have looked at that request and found it a little bit onerous," Glenn said Friday. "I think there is some discussion about what we can realistically do. We've all lost some personnel with these budget cuts."
Health departments will likely face the unusual challenge this fall of conducting simultaneous immunization campaigns for both the seasonal and swine flus. Neither vaccine is expected to provide protection against the other virus.
Alameda County hopes to offer seasonal flu vaccine clinics in August. Contra Costa County expects to provide similar clinics at 30 to 50 schools in October, a significant increase over the
school-based clinics offered last year.
"What I would like to do is prevent as much seasonal flu as possible so we're not dealing with both," said Erika Jenssen, Contra Costa County immunization coordinator.
"If we can protect the schoolchildren, then we're also protecting the larger community."
The county expects to have plenty of the seasonal flu vaccine available in both shots and a nasal spray. Participation will be voluntary and consent forms will be sent to parents.
Clinic staffers will be hired with federal economic stimulus dollars, Jenssen said.
If a swine flu vaccine becomes available later in the year, both counties plan to offer that as well.
Educating the public will be crucial, said Dr. Muntu Davis, director of Alameda County's communicable disease division. He wants to make sure everyone understands that people will need to be immunized twice to be protected against both viruses.
For students whose schools don't offer immunizations, Contra Costa County plans to open seasonal flu vaccine clinics the first three Saturdays in November. A drive-through lane would enable people with disabilities or mobility problems to get shots without leaving their cars, Jenssen said.
The counties stay in contact with school districts and school nurses where suspect cases are identified. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell told a congressional committee in May that he was concerned that only about 2,900 nurses serve California's 6.3 million students.
He was also concerned that districts did not have a system to track and report the individual schools that had been ordered to dismiss students due to the H1N1 ? the swine flu virus technical designation. O'Connell promised to work with county education offices to improve tracking.
In the West Contra Costa County school district, the equivalent of 2.5 nurses are coordinating with the health department to ensure that the district's more than 30,000 students wash their hands and remember to cough into their elbows. The idea is to help prevent the spread of the virus from people who cough into their hands and then touch others.
O'Connell joked that some students came up with a more dramatic way to describe covering their coughs: by imitating Count Dracula, who swoops his arm up to cover his face against sunlight and crosses.
Hoping to tap into the creativity of teens and young adults to communicate swine flu prevention messages, the federal government is sponsoring a contest for educational videos posted on You Tube.
Glenn said that it is difficult to get teens to heed adult warnings of the swine flu virus threat.
"They wouldn't drive their motorcycles the way they do if they thought something bad would actually happen to them."
Media News staff writers Katy Murphy and Neil Gonzales contributed to this story. Reach Theresa Harrington at tharrington@bayareanewsgroup.com and Sandy Kleffman at skleffman@bayareanewsgroup.com.
FLU CHECKLIST
To prepare for a severe flu outbreak, experts recommend that families:
Store a two-week supply of water and food.
Periodically check prescription drugs to ensure you have an adequate supply in your home.
Have health supplies on hand such as cough and cold medicines, fluids with electrolytes and upset stomach remedies.
Talk to friends and family members about who will care for sick children.
Statewide H1N1 guidelines and information are at www.csba.org and www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/swineflu.asp.
Rules for entering the federal government's flu-education video contest are at
Bay Area health and school officials brace for swine flu
By Theresa Harrington and Sandy Kleffman
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 07/25/2009 03:01:30 PM PDT
Updated: 07/26/2009 06:55:30 AM PDT
As health departments brace for a possible increase in swine flu cases, schools are preparing to ramp up prevention and student absence tracking when classes resume during the next six weeks.
In Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties, school districts are following the lead of their county health leaders by reminding students and families about the importance of washing hands, coughing into sleeves and staying home when sick.
The Contra Costa County health department has asked districts to track student absences closely. Last spring, most county schools kept an eye on absences of 10 percent or more.
Districts have not agreed on a threshold for the coming year, said Jerry Glenn, superintendent of the Liberty Union High School District, which resumes classes Tuesday.
"Some superintendents have looked at that request and found it a little bit onerous," Glenn said Friday. "I think there is some discussion about what we can realistically do. We've all lost some personnel with these budget cuts."
Health departments will likely face the unusual challenge this fall of conducting simultaneous immunization campaigns for both the seasonal and swine flus. Neither vaccine is expected to provide protection against the other virus.
Alameda County hopes to offer seasonal flu vaccine clinics in August. Contra Costa County expects to provide similar clinics at 30 to 50 schools in October, a significant increase over the
school-based clinics offered last year.
"What I would like to do is prevent as much seasonal flu as possible so we're not dealing with both," said Erika Jenssen, Contra Costa County immunization coordinator.
"If we can protect the schoolchildren, then we're also protecting the larger community."
The county expects to have plenty of the seasonal flu vaccine available in both shots and a nasal spray. Participation will be voluntary and consent forms will be sent to parents.
Clinic staffers will be hired with federal economic stimulus dollars, Jenssen said.
If a swine flu vaccine becomes available later in the year, both counties plan to offer that as well.
Educating the public will be crucial, said Dr. Muntu Davis, director of Alameda County's communicable disease division. He wants to make sure everyone understands that people will need to be immunized twice to be protected against both viruses.
For students whose schools don't offer immunizations, Contra Costa County plans to open seasonal flu vaccine clinics the first three Saturdays in November. A drive-through lane would enable people with disabilities or mobility problems to get shots without leaving their cars, Jenssen said.
The counties stay in contact with school districts and school nurses where suspect cases are identified. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell told a congressional committee in May that he was concerned that only about 2,900 nurses serve California's 6.3 million students.
He was also concerned that districts did not have a system to track and report the individual schools that had been ordered to dismiss students due to the H1N1 ? the swine flu virus technical designation. O'Connell promised to work with county education offices to improve tracking.
In the West Contra Costa County school district, the equivalent of 2.5 nurses are coordinating with the health department to ensure that the district's more than 30,000 students wash their hands and remember to cough into their elbows. The idea is to help prevent the spread of the virus from people who cough into their hands and then touch others.
O'Connell joked that some students came up with a more dramatic way to describe covering their coughs: by imitating Count Dracula, who swoops his arm up to cover his face against sunlight and crosses.
Hoping to tap into the creativity of teens and young adults to communicate swine flu prevention messages, the federal government is sponsoring a contest for educational videos posted on You Tube.
Glenn said that it is difficult to get teens to heed adult warnings of the swine flu virus threat.
"They wouldn't drive their motorcycles the way they do if they thought something bad would actually happen to them."
Media News staff writers Katy Murphy and Neil Gonzales contributed to this story. Reach Theresa Harrington at tharrington@bayareanewsgroup.com and Sandy Kleffman at skleffman@bayareanewsgroup.com.
FLU CHECKLIST
To prepare for a severe flu outbreak, experts recommend that families:
Store a two-week supply of water and food.
Periodically check prescription drugs to ensure you have an adequate supply in your home.
Have health supplies on hand such as cough and cold medicines, fluids with electrolytes and upset stomach remedies.
Talk to friends and family members about who will care for sick children.
Statewide H1N1 guidelines and information are at www.csba.org and www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/swineflu.asp.
Rules for entering the federal government's flu-education video contest are at