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Swine Flu Should Not Close Most Schools, Federal Officials Say
By DENISE GRADY
Published: August 7, 2009
Most schools should be able to stay open even if swine flu outbreaks occur again this fall, government officials said Friday as they issued recommendations for dealing with the illness when the school year starts.
Decisions about whether to close schools should be made locally, the officials said, and ?should balance the goal of reducing the number of people who become seriously ill or die from influenza with the goal of minimizing social disruption and safety risks to children,? which sometimes occur when schools close.
The nation has 130,000 schools, 55 million students and 7 million staff members. Closing schools may mean that parents have to stay home or find child care, which some cannot afford. People in essential jobs, like health care, may be stuck at home during outbreaks when they are most needed. In some cases, children may wind up being left home alone or going to the mall, where they can spread the H1N1 flu virus.
The secretaries of education, homeland security and health and human services described the guidelines for schools with grades kindergarten through 12 on Friday at a news briefing in Washington, along with the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidelines for colleges and employers are set to be issued on Aug. 23.
?It?s now clear that closure of schools is rarely indicated, even if H1N1 is in the school,? said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the disease control centers, though he added that closings might be necessary if so many people were sick that the school could not function, or if parents persisted in sending sick children to school.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that some schools ?will have to close,? and that administrators should be making plans to continue schooling at home, via telephones and the Internet.
Emphasizing that vaccination is the best way to prevent the spread of the flu, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the vaccine against the H1N1 virus should be ready by October. People will probably need two shots of the new vaccine, in addition to one shot for seasonal flu. Children and young people ages 6 months to 24 years are to be given priority for the H1N1 vaccine, and vaccination clinics may be set up in some schools.
The advice to schools includes telling staff members and students to stay home when they are sick and not to return for at least 24 hours after the fever goes away. This differs from earlier guidelines, which advised staying home for seven days.
Schools are also urged to set up a separate room where students and staff members who do come to school sick can stay until they can be sent home. They should be given masks to wear, and so should the people looking after them.
Special schools for sick children or pregnant teenagers, both high-risk groups, may need to close, Dr. Frieden said.
The guidelines also say that if the flu becomes more severe, additional measures may be needed, like screening staff members and students daily, telling people at high risk and those with sick family members to stay home, and increasing the distance between people at school by moving the desks farther apart.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/health/08flu.html
By DENISE GRADY
Published: August 7, 2009
Most schools should be able to stay open even if swine flu outbreaks occur again this fall, government officials said Friday as they issued recommendations for dealing with the illness when the school year starts.
Decisions about whether to close schools should be made locally, the officials said, and ?should balance the goal of reducing the number of people who become seriously ill or die from influenza with the goal of minimizing social disruption and safety risks to children,? which sometimes occur when schools close.
The nation has 130,000 schools, 55 million students and 7 million staff members. Closing schools may mean that parents have to stay home or find child care, which some cannot afford. People in essential jobs, like health care, may be stuck at home during outbreaks when they are most needed. In some cases, children may wind up being left home alone or going to the mall, where they can spread the H1N1 flu virus.
The secretaries of education, homeland security and health and human services described the guidelines for schools with grades kindergarten through 12 on Friday at a news briefing in Washington, along with the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidelines for colleges and employers are set to be issued on Aug. 23.
?It?s now clear that closure of schools is rarely indicated, even if H1N1 is in the school,? said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the disease control centers, though he added that closings might be necessary if so many people were sick that the school could not function, or if parents persisted in sending sick children to school.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that some schools ?will have to close,? and that administrators should be making plans to continue schooling at home, via telephones and the Internet.
Emphasizing that vaccination is the best way to prevent the spread of the flu, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the vaccine against the H1N1 virus should be ready by October. People will probably need two shots of the new vaccine, in addition to one shot for seasonal flu. Children and young people ages 6 months to 24 years are to be given priority for the H1N1 vaccine, and vaccination clinics may be set up in some schools.
The advice to schools includes telling staff members and students to stay home when they are sick and not to return for at least 24 hours after the fever goes away. This differs from earlier guidelines, which advised staying home for seven days.
Schools are also urged to set up a separate room where students and staff members who do come to school sick can stay until they can be sent home. They should be given masks to wear, and so should the people looking after them.
Special schools for sick children or pregnant teenagers, both high-risk groups, may need to close, Dr. Frieden said.
The guidelines also say that if the flu becomes more severe, additional measures may be needed, like screening staff members and students daily, telling people at high risk and those with sick family members to stay home, and increasing the distance between people at school by moving the desks farther apart.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/health/08flu.html
