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Health agency to focus on swine flu vaccinations in Dane County schools
By GENA KITTNER
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 5:35 pm
Officials with the Madison-Dane County Public Health Department will suspend any "non-essential functions" to focus on the swine flu vaccination clinics in the schools, which will likely start Monday.
"We are diverting virtually all of our staff to work on this," said Judy Howard, one of the department's public health nursing supervisors. It takes more than 100 people a day to manage the clinics and the department is working with health care providers throughout the county to ensure there is adequate staff, she said.
"We've been preparing for a public health emergency for years," she said. "This is the first time that it's for real."
Check lists, flow charts and consent forms for the clinics have been sent to 180 Dane County schools where the department estimates vaccinating about 80,000 students. Parents have the option not to have their children vaccinated.
"We are planning for a 75 percent response rate," Howard said. It will take five weeks to complete the first round of school immunizations.
Children under 10 years old need two doses of the vaccine for swine flu, also known as H1N1 - about one month apart. The public health department will provide the booster doses to those children at later clinics.
Howard said the health department has requested both the shot and nasal spray vaccines, which will be free to students.
"We have to have enough of both vaccinations to start the clinic Monday," she said, adding the nasal spray vaccine, and not a shot, will be given to young children when possible.
"We know that no matter what we do to try to comfort a child ... some children are just too afraid," to get the vaccination, Howard said.
Children who are too out of control or afraid will not be given the vaccine and their parents will be notified, she said.
A tentative schedule of the clinics is posted on the Madison-Dane County Health Department Web site: http://www.publichealthmdc.com/disease/swineflu/documents/SchoolVacClinics.pdf
The H1N1 vaccine is being given first to those who are more likely to get the flu or more likely to develop complications, which includes school children.
In Spring Green, River Valley Middle School closed Tuesday through Friday, after about 40 percent of the 296 students were out sick or went home on Monday with flu-like symptoms, said district superintendent Jamie Benson.
The district's four elementary schools and River Valley High School in Spring Green will remain open but will be closely monitored, he said.
Last week, the Wisconsin Dells School District closed its five schools for three days due to absenteeism from flu-like illness.
UW-Madison has requested 20,000 swine flu vaccinations and plans to offer walk-in vaccinations at the University Health Services, as well as seven "large scale" clinics once the vaccinations are received, said Dr. Sarah Van Orman, executive director of University Health Services.
And while the university recently reported a decrease in the number of students evaluated for influenza-like illness, "I would not be surprised if we see another uptick," she said.
More information:
Parents also call the Madison-Dane County Public Health Department Flu Line at 243-0555 with any questions regarding the school-based clinics. General questions about H1N1 can be answered by calling 2-1-1.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/lo...cle_b9d9ba80-b848-11de-8606-001cc4c002e0.html
By GENA KITTNER
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 5:35 pm
Officials with the Madison-Dane County Public Health Department will suspend any "non-essential functions" to focus on the swine flu vaccination clinics in the schools, which will likely start Monday.
"We are diverting virtually all of our staff to work on this," said Judy Howard, one of the department's public health nursing supervisors. It takes more than 100 people a day to manage the clinics and the department is working with health care providers throughout the county to ensure there is adequate staff, she said.
"We've been preparing for a public health emergency for years," she said. "This is the first time that it's for real."
Check lists, flow charts and consent forms for the clinics have been sent to 180 Dane County schools where the department estimates vaccinating about 80,000 students. Parents have the option not to have their children vaccinated.
"We are planning for a 75 percent response rate," Howard said. It will take five weeks to complete the first round of school immunizations.
Children under 10 years old need two doses of the vaccine for swine flu, also known as H1N1 - about one month apart. The public health department will provide the booster doses to those children at later clinics.
Howard said the health department has requested both the shot and nasal spray vaccines, which will be free to students.
"We have to have enough of both vaccinations to start the clinic Monday," she said, adding the nasal spray vaccine, and not a shot, will be given to young children when possible.
"We know that no matter what we do to try to comfort a child ... some children are just too afraid," to get the vaccination, Howard said.
Children who are too out of control or afraid will not be given the vaccine and their parents will be notified, she said.
A tentative schedule of the clinics is posted on the Madison-Dane County Health Department Web site: http://www.publichealthmdc.com/disease/swineflu/documents/SchoolVacClinics.pdf
The H1N1 vaccine is being given first to those who are more likely to get the flu or more likely to develop complications, which includes school children.
In Spring Green, River Valley Middle School closed Tuesday through Friday, after about 40 percent of the 296 students were out sick or went home on Monday with flu-like symptoms, said district superintendent Jamie Benson.
The district's four elementary schools and River Valley High School in Spring Green will remain open but will be closely monitored, he said.
Last week, the Wisconsin Dells School District closed its five schools for three days due to absenteeism from flu-like illness.
UW-Madison has requested 20,000 swine flu vaccinations and plans to offer walk-in vaccinations at the University Health Services, as well as seven "large scale" clinics once the vaccinations are received, said Dr. Sarah Van Orman, executive director of University Health Services.
And while the university recently reported a decrease in the number of students evaluated for influenza-like illness, "I would not be surprised if we see another uptick," she said.
More information:
Parents also call the Madison-Dane County Public Health Department Flu Line at 243-0555 with any questions regarding the school-based clinics. General questions about H1N1 can be answered by calling 2-1-1.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/lo...cle_b9d9ba80-b848-11de-8606-001cc4c002e0.html