From buckslocalnews.com
Pennsbury School District orders H1N1 vaccine for every child; shots to be given later this month
Published: Friday, October 16, 2009
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; BucksLocalNews.com
The Pennsbury School District has ordered enough free H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine for every child in the district.
As required, enough vaccine has been ordered for private and parochial schools.
That's the word from Sherwood Taylor, director of administrative services, who gave a report to the school board Oct. 15 about plans to immunize students and staff later this month or in the beginning of November. The district has 11,400 students and 1,500 staff members.
Taylor attended a meeting with the Bucks County Health Department, which will send the vaccine and upwards to eight nurses and necessary supplies.
"It's preventative," Taylor said about the importance of the vaccination program. "You can see across the country some of the major institutions - colleges and hospitals -- are having outbreaks.
"Our goal is not to have a major outbreak and not wind up in a position where we have to close a school," he said. "We are going to get an outbreak. You try to minimize the problem as much as possible."
Taylor said, "It's totally voluntary. Permission slips will be sent home." He is waiting for the permission slips, which are specially designed by the health department.
A clinic will be run in each school. Two night clinics will be held in case parents want to be with their child for the shot. One of the night clinics will be held in the northern part of the district and one in the southern part.
"There are going to be some parents who will not want their child to get the vaccine or they want their family physician to give it," Taylor said.
On the cost of vaccinating the students and the staff, Sherwood said, "This is not costing the school district anything," he stressed about the vaccine. "It's paid by the government."
Taylor said the school district has bought hand sanitizer for each teacher's desk, which equates to 780 bottles.
Also purchased were 126 sanitization foam stations. There will be 12 stations in each secondary school and six in each elementary school. Taylor said they have not been received yet. They were due one month ago, but the supplier is saying it will still take another week to deliver them.
Taylor advised the importance of parents teaching their children to wash their hands. He emphasized that people should cough or sneeze into their sleeve and not into their hands.
"It's all spread by direct cough," Taylor noted.
Nurses throughout the school district are posting signs about "the proper etiquette" if someone is going to sneeze or cough. Part of the message is "if you can't wash your hands in the sink, get an alcohol-based towelette or use hand sanitizer."
Regarding symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, notes, “The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.”
