NY Schools Brace for Swine Flu
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August 17, 2009
ALBANY, N.Y. - With the H1N1 swine flu expected to return to schools along with students in the next couple of weeks, the government has told local officials to get ready - but not to be too quick to close schools. New York State United Teachers president Dick Iannuzzi, who was briefed by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said the Secretary urged common sense.
"If a parent or a school district were looking for a black-and-white decision as to when to close schools, they're not going to find one, nor should they. Using common sense and continually re-evaluating is the best way to proceed."
If the virus starts to spread faster, schools are urged to slow it by stressing hand hygiene and other means, keeping school closures a last resort. The administration hopes to avoid the disruption of last spring when some 700 schools in half the states closed, leaving parents to scramble for child care.
A vaccine aimed at H1N1 is expected to be ready by mid-October. The administration wants schools to be primary shot-dispensing sites. Iannuzzi concurs.
"Clearly, students and young people are the group that will be impacted most by H1N1, so, definitely, schools are the best place for us to proceed with respect to vaccinations."
Iannuzzi says with the anticipated resurgence of swine flu during the fall and winter flu season, some school districts will regret making what he calls unwise decisions in recent years to eliminate school nurses.
"The importance of having a school nurse in every building could not be any clearer than in the H1N1 potential crisis we're about to face."
The federal guidelines also urge schools to prepare take-home packets so students who stay home with the flu can keep learning, and to be prepared to do that on a larger scale if a school is forced to shut down.