Schools keep close watch for swine flu

In anticipation of a possible outbreak of swine flu, which has manifested itself in various corners of the globe, the Pennsylvania Department of Health is calling for volunteers to assist in a mass inoculation program scheduled throughout the commonwealth.

According to information provided by the DOH, clinics throughout Pennsylvania will be distributing doses of the H1N1 vaccine, which is used to inoculate against swine flu, to members of the public in the coming weeks.

The program is already underway in certain areas, with Sayre Area School District the first school district in Pennsylvania to administer the vaccine to its students. Other school districts, such as Athens and Towanda, have also been earmarked as local distribution sites for the vaccine.

The DOH reports that clinics are expected to distribute the H1N1 vaccine in November and December 2009, and well as January 2010. Vaccinations are expected to be administered over several days during convenient hours.

In an attempt to determine how widespread the disease is at this point locally, The Daily Review contacted the school districts in Bradford and Sullivan counties, as well as Waverly, N.Y., and asked if there have been confirmed cases of swine flu reported. All results were negative, however it's been pointed out by representatives from the DOH that it requires specific testing to determine if a person has swine flu, because its symptoms are similar to those caused by the regular flu strain. In addition, the districts have been encouraging a number of preventative measures, such as frequent hand washing, in the hopes of heading off a possible outbreak of the disease.

Athens Area School District

The Athens School District started vaccinations for H1N1 this past week, with more than 1,100 students - about 50 percent of the district's student body - vaccinated, according to Doug Ulkins, Athens superintendent.

Ulkins said the district had no clue as to what kind of response they would get from the voluntary vaccinations, adding that he was pleased with the response. The district will be offering vaccinations to staff this week.

Ulkins said he had not been told of any confirmed cases of H1N1 in the district. Absenteeism in the Athens district has been "pretty average," compared to last year since the start of the school year, Ulkins said, except for a spike on Wednesday, Oct. 21, with around 155 students, or about 7 percent of the student body, out sick. A lot of kids in the district had been complaining of symptoms related to a stomach virus, which is likely the cause of the spike in absences, he said.

The district plans on opening the Lynch-Bustin Point of Distribution site for the public, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 19-21, dependent on when the vaccine is available, Ulkins said.

Ulkins said he was pleased with what the district has been able to do, and that he was hopeful the outbreak won't be as bad as projected. The district continues to do cleaning and preventative measures in all the schools.

Sayre Area School District

The Sayre School District was the first in the state to administer H1N1 vaccines to students, and Superintendent Dean Hosterman said that nearly 600 students had been vaccinated, and now the district was working on administering the vaccine to district staff.

"I can't say enough good things about the process," Hosterman said, adding that Cindy Jones, school nurse at Sayre, had done an "outstanding job" with administering the vaccine. Jones did a majority of paperwork for the vaccination program, which "wasn't an easy process," he said.

The Sayre District hasn't had any confirmed cases of H1N1 at this point, Hosterman said. Absenteeism so far this year has been very good, he said, and no different than last year. The response to the voluntary vaccinations has been higher than initially anticipated, Hosterman said, with around 48 percent of the student body vaccinated.

The district had help from staff from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to help administer the vaccine, Hosterman said.

"The cooperation in the community has been exceptional (throughout the vaccination process)," Hosterman said, adding: "We took it very seriously and jumped on it."

Waverly Central School District

In New York State, each county's health department will help coordinate vaccination in schools, according to Waverly Central School District Superintendent Mike McMahon. The school superintendents in Tioga County, N.Y., recently met with health officials at the county level and expect to know when the vaccination clinics will be held soon.

The school will be sending letters home with students as soon as they hear from the county when inoculation clinics will be, McMahon said.

McMahon said that absenteeism in the district had not been a problem so far this year, and the district has had no confirmed cases of H1N1.

"We'll just keep moving forward and thinking good thoughts. Right now everyone's taking pretty good care of themselves," McMahon said.

A letter sent home with Waverly students on Friday from the Tioga County Health Department encouraged parents to have their children vaccinated at their health care provider as soon as possible once the vaccine becomes available. If a vaccination at the child's healthcare provider is not possible, the letter stated, Tioga County will hold clinics throughout the county, including at the schools. The vaccine is not mandatory, and won't be given without parental consent, the letter stated, and more information about the date and time of the clinic will be sent via the school.

Sullivan County School District

While the Sullivan County School District has not had any confirmed cases yet of the swine flu (H1N1), "we have had kids with symptoms of the flu" this school year, said Sullivan County schools Superintendent Steven Gobble.

On Thursday, 11 percent of the school district's students were absent from school because they were sick and because their parents are becoming more educated about the flu, he said.

Normally, 4 to 6 percent of students are absent from school on a given day, Gobble said.

While Thursday's absentee rate is a cause for concern, "it is not an alarming rate," he said.

The Sullivan County School District will have swine flu vaccination clinics for its students on Nov. 12 and Dec. 10. The clinics are being held twice partly because younger students need to be vaccinated twice, he said. Also, students who missed the first clinic could get vaccinated at the Dec. 10 clinic, he said.

Towanda Area School District

The Towanda School District has been taking many measures to prevent the spread of swine flu, Towanda schools Superintendent Diane M. Place said.

"We're really pushing hand-washing" as a way to prevent people from catching the disease, she said.

"We are spraying keyboards" every night with a cleaning solution, she said. And school district employees are cleaning the tops of students' desks regularly, she said. There are also hand sanitizers in the cafeterias, she said.

She said there are students in the school district coming down with the flu-like symptoms, but more so at the elementary school level.

The Towanda School District is planning to host clinics to administer the swine flu vaccine to school-age children up to the age of about 18, Place said.

People attending the school-age clinics "will have to pre-register," Place said. "We'll assign a time (to be vaccinated) so we can keep it as orderly as possible."

That's because the swine flu clinics that have been held so far have had "a lot of people come at once - more than was anticipated," she said.

In addition, the clinics will include an "observation period," she said. "We have to keep the children at the clinic for 20 minutes to observe if there were any reactions."

The dates of the clinics have not yet been set, she said.

In addition to the clinics for school-age children, the Towanda School District has been asked to be activated as "point-of-dispensing" (POD) site to administer the swine flu vaccine to the public, who could be of any age and from anyplace in the United States, Place said.

The Towanda School District is one of two POD sites in the county that have been set up by the Department of Health.

"We're looking for two and possibly three 12-hour days to serve as a POD-format" clinic to dispense the swine-flu vaccine to the public, Place said. "We're looking to vaccinate about 6,000 people (through the POD clinic)."

While the date of the POD clinic has not yet been set, it might take place in mid- to late November, she said.

Canton Area School District

In the Canton Area School District, district superintendent Matt Gordon said the district received 300 seasonal flu inoculations and 500 swine flu inoculations as a result of a grant application. They were to have been administered to students Saturday in the health office of the elementary school.

"We have notified the parents of their availability and scheduled the inoculations. They're almost all spoken for."

He said the district is experiencing an increase in students exhibiting flu-like symptoms as, he said, are other local districts.

"We also are sending students home ill with 'normal' illnesses such as pinkeye and strep throat. We are in daily contact with the Department of Health and report our numbers in both buildings and follow their protocol and advice. We are trying to be proactive and take all the precautions advised by the Department of Health."

Troy Area School District

Troy Area School District Interim Superintendent Don Butler wasn't available for comment, but Troy Middle School Principal Rebecca Stanfield, who had served as interim superintendent before Butler took over, said, "I really cannot comment on whether there has been flu cases or not in Troy. Parents are not required to say why their sick children are out - just that they are sick."

"As for offering the vaccination...we will not be offering the vaccination at this time in Troy."

Wyalusing Area School District

According to Ray Fleming, superintendent of the Wyalusing Area School District, no student in the district has been officially diagnosed with swine flu at this time. He said some parents have called in, expressing concerns that their children might have the disease, but no medical testing was conducted to determine if this was the case.

Fleming said the district has incorporated a number of procedures in an attempt to prevent an outbreak. One thing was the installation of hand sanitizers in every classroom, he said. Administrators and teachers have been using the santitizers, Fleming explained, and this in turn is setting a positive example to the students to use them as well.

In addition, the superintendent continued, the district has sent letters home with students, published the information on its Web site, and sent out newspaper articles explaining to parents how to recognize flu symptoms and what steps to take if the disease breaks out in the home.

Fleming said he carefully goes over the district's absentee report on a daily basis to determine if there's any cause for concern. At the present time, he said, the absentee rate is between five to six percent, which is normal for the district. If an outbreak does occur, Fleming explained, the district will immediately notify the Department of Health, and keep it abreast of the situation.

Wyalusing is registered with the DOH to administer the vaccine, but has not been designated a distribution site at this point. He said the district is waiting to hear from the DOH to see if a supply of the vaccine will be available for innoculations.

Northeast Bradford School District

Mary Raymond, administrative assistance to district Superintendent Heather McPherson at Northeast Bradford, said there have been no reported incidents of swine flu among the students. She said that absentee rates have been between 11 to 14 percent, which the Department of Health has indicated is normal for this time of year for the school district.

North Rome Christian School

Lee Ann Carmichael, administrator at North Rome Christian School, said they are taking every precaution to protect against a possible outbreak of swine flu.

"We're using lots of soap and paper towels," she explained about the school's preventative efforts.

Carmichael said they are encouraging parents to keep their children home if they're sick, and have been passing on information about the importance of frequent hand washing and disinfecting.

Carmichael also said there have been no confirmed cases of swine flu turning up at North Rome Christian School. However, she also explained that there's a possibility students could have come down with what was thought to be regular flu, but what was really swine flu. Such things are impossible to determine without specific tests being performed, she explained.

Carmichael said that North Rome will not be distributing flu shots as some other schools had done in Bradford County. Instead, she explained, North Rome students will be able to obtain H1N1 shots from certain school districts that are distributing the vaccine.

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