H1N1 Vaccine: Coordinating Efforts

Throughout the summer I have been inundated with updates from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) regarding the H1N1 virus (formerly known as Swine Flu). At first I thought that this flood of information was fueled by the media frenzy on this topic. Most of us recall the media frenzy that surrounded SARS, which affected a little more than 8,000 people worldwide in 2003. Technically speaking there were more news reports about SARS than there were people affected by it.

I decided to do a little research on the Avian Flu (also known as Bird Flu) and found that around 250 people over 12 countries lost their lives as a result of this illness. Similar to the recent releases on the H1N1 Virus, experts feared a pandemic situation with the Avian Flu. As I poked around the Internet on this topic I began to uncover what a pandemic would really mean and began a proactive plan to keep our school community as insulated as possible from the threat of this illness.

When the World Health Organization issued its warnings back in March, we took immediate action. We provided our students with instruction on the importance of keeping their hands clean and away from their eyes, noses, and mouths. We taught them the importance of coughing and/or sneezing into a tissue, or into their sleeves, and our maintenance crew worked to keep our facility as clean as possible. Now experts are saying that there is a possibility of a return of H1N1 in the fall that will be more viscous that the outbreak that the world experienced in the spring.

Whether or not the H1N1 hits, we must be proactive in our actions to keep our students healthy. We have opened a dialogue with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as well as our local Board of Health. After conversations with Orange Town Administrator, Rick Kwiatkowski and Orange Board of Health Director, Roger Maillet, we have decided to coordinate our efforts to offer vaccinations to our students and local residents when they are available this fall. It appears likely that Dr. Burnim will also have the vaccine offered to elementary students – and parents can expect a joint communication from Dr. Burnim, Mr. Maillet an me at the beginning of school.

I anticipate that there will be free vaccinations available this fall for our students who are currently living in low-income situations. Funding for these vaccinations has traditionally been offered by the State DPH, in which a small number of students have accessed the vaccine through their pediatricians. Mr. Maillet is working on another initiative to inoculate those who do not fall under the DPH program that the schools have access to. It is my hope that we will be able to offer the vaccination in school this fall – but it is even more my hope that H1N1 just goes away.