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School district, health department planning for fall flu season
By Harold Reutter
harold.reutter@theindependent.com
It may be summer, but Grand Island public schools officials and the Central District Health Department are already looking ahead to the fall flu season.
When it comes to the H1N1 flu, however, talking about "fall flu" may be a misnomer.
H1N1 flu, commonly called swine flu, never left Nebraska during the summer months. In July, a Custer County woman in her 50s died in Lincoln from complications of the H1N1 flu. The woman had several chronic underlying health conditions, including heart disease and emphysema, which the flu worsened.
In the past couple of weeks, three cases of H1N1 flu were confirmed for two employees and one client at Mosaic, an agency that serves people with developmental disabilities, in Hastings.
At the time of the Custer County woman's death in July, state health officials said Nebraska had 264 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu. Most cases were mild, with only 13 people requiring hospital care. Nebraska health officials said most H1N1 flu was being contracted locally, not because of travel to other parts of the United States or because of international travel.
Currently, the Southern Hemisphere is in the midst of its flu season. In late July, the World Health Organization reported that H1N1 was the dominant flu virus circulating in the Southern Hemisphere countries of New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
The WHO has also reported that H1N1 flu has been confirmed in 160 countries to date. With the arrival of fall, the flu season will shift back to Northern Hemisphere countries such as the United States.
With all that as background, Robin Dexter, assistant superintendent for student services for the Grand Island public schools, met with Teresa Anderson, executive director of the Central District Health Department, and Ryan King, Health Department assistant director.
Dexter said she was accompanied by the district's school nurses; John Street, director of Central Nebraska Support Services; the district's early childhood supervisor; and Assistant Superintendent Jim Werth, who is about to retire from the district.
Dexter said the information they received from Anderson and King is that a vaccine for H1N1 flu may be available by mid-October. Depending on how much vaccine is available, there are two possible scenarios on who should receive the vaccine.
Under the scenario of having abundant vaccine supplies, health officials would recommend the following people get the H1N1 vaccine:
-- Pregnant women.
-- Those who live with or who care for children who are under 6 months of age.
-- Health care workers and emergency service personnel.
-- Young people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years.
-- People age 25 to 64 who are considered to be at high risk because of a chronic health condition.
If less vaccine is available, a slightly smaller group would be recommended to be first in line for vaccination. Dexter said they were informed that this group of people would include:
-- Pregnant women.
-- Those who live with or care for children under 6 months of age.
-- Health care providers or emergency service personnel with direct patient contact. The restriction to emergency service personnel with direct patient contact is the first narrowing of the population to be vaccinated.
-- Young people between the ages of 6 months to 4 years.
-- Young people between the ages of 5 and 18 who are at high risk because of a chronic health condition.
Dexter noted that the Central District Health Department met with GIPS officials because the vaccination guidelines make it clear that young, preschool and school-age kids are among the "high-risk" populations for contracting the disease.
As a result, the school system could be one means of communicating with parents about the possible need to get their children vaccinated, Dexter said. However, the decision to actually have their children vaccinated is a voluntary one that will rest with the parents.
In addition to hearing from Central District Health Department officials, Dexter said, school officials also talked among themselves about the need to promote good hand-washing practices among students and staff and the need for a person to cover his or her mouth with the sleeve on an arm as ways to prevent the spread of the flu.
Dexter said she also is scheduled to participate on Aug. 18 in an online seminar on the H1N1 flu involving officials with the Nebraska Department of Education and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Anderson said that trials on the H1N1 vaccine are under way. Depending on the results of those trials, it may be possible that people may need three vaccinations to be fully protected from the flu.
She said the vaccine trials will determine whether one H1N1 vaccination will be sufficient or whether people will need an initial H1N1 vaccination followed by an H1N1 booster shot.
Anderson said people also will need a separate vaccination to prevent getting seasonal flu.
At one time, health officials were debating whether it might be possible to mix the new H1N1 vaccine with the seasonal flu vaccine into a single shot, Anderson said. However, that idea was rejected.
There also was debate about whether an H1N1 vaccine and seasonal flu vaccine could be administered the same day, Anderson said. That idea also has been discarded.
The first widespread H1N1 outbreak was in Mexico City, with the outbreak having a fairly high mortality rate. One theory was the high mortality may have happened because the H1N1 flu appeared at the end of the regular flu season.
Anderson said health officials suspect that people may have come down with the regular flu, which left them with weakened immune systems to fight off the H1N1 flu.
Other than the Mexico City outbreak, the H1N1 flu has not been particularly lethal.
But Anderson said H1N1 is so highly contagious that it is officially a pandemic. She said one reason so much attention has been focused on H1N1 is that it can be highly disruptive to schools and businesses if an outbreak forces a high percentage of students or employees to miss school or work.
Anderson said H1N1 is a novel or new virus.
"Viruses are smart," said Anderson, who noted that means viruses can quickly evolve or mutate. As a result, there is concern the novel H1N1 virus could yet mutate into a strain that could cause more serious illness.
Anderson said the Central District Health Department could vaccinate people. She said it is undecided whether any attempt will be made to distribute the vaccine to private medical clinics for doctors to vaccinate their own patients.
As a result, it is possible that permission will be sought to use schools as vaccination sites. Anderson said that is another reason she met with GIPS officials this past week.
When it comes to the H1N1 flu, however, talking about "fall flu" may be a misnomer.
H1N1 flu, commonly called swine flu, never left Nebraska during the summer months. In July, a Custer County woman in her 50s died in Lincoln from complications of the H1N1 flu. The woman had several chronic underlying health conditions, including heart disease and emphysema, which the flu worsened.
In the past couple of weeks, three cases of H1N1 flu were confirmed for two employees and one client at Mosaic, an agency that serves people with developmental disabilities, in Hastings.
Currently, the Southern Hemisphere is in the midst of its flu season. In late July, the World Health Organization reported that H1N1 was the dominant flu virus circulating in the Southern Hemisphere countries of New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
The WHO has also reported that H1N1 flu has been confirmed in 160 countries to date. With the arrival of fall, the flu season will shift back to Northern Hemisphere countries such as the United States.
With all that as background, Robin Dexter, assistant superintendent for student services for the Grand Island public schools, met with Teresa Anderson, executive director of the Central District Health Department, and Ryan King, Health Department assistant director.
Dexter said she was accompanied by the district's school nurses; John Street, director of Central Nebraska Support Services; the district's early childhood supervisor; and Assistant Superintendent Jim Werth, who is about to retire from the district.
Dexter said the information they received from Anderson and King is that a vaccine for H1N1 flu may be available by mid-October. Depending on how much vaccine is available, there are two possible scenarios on who should receive the vaccine.
Under the scenario of having abundant vaccine supplies, health officials would recommend the following people get the H1N1 vaccine:
-- Pregnant women.
-- Those who live with or who care for children who are under 6 months of age.
-- Health care workers and emergency service personnel.
-- Young people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years.
-- People age 25 to 64 who are considered to be at high risk because of a chronic health condition.
If less vaccine is available, a slightly smaller group would be recommended to be first in line for vaccination. Dexter said they were informed that this group of people would include:
-- Pregnant women.
-- Those who live with or care for children under 6 months of age.
-- Health care providers or emergency service personnel with direct patient contact. The restriction to emergency service personnel with direct patient contact is the first narrowing of the population to be vaccinated.
-- Young people between the ages of 6 months to 4 years.
-- Young people between the ages of 5 and 18 who are at high risk because of a chronic health condition.
Dexter noted that the Central District Health Department met with GIPS officials because the vaccination guidelines make it clear that young, preschool and school-age kids are among the "high-risk" populations for contracting the disease.
As a result, the school system could be one means of communicating with parents about the possible need to get their children vaccinated, Dexter said. However, the decision to actually have their children vaccinated is a voluntary one that will rest with the parents.
In addition to hearing from Central District Health Department officials, Dexter said, school officials also talked among themselves about the need to promote good hand-washing practices among students and staff and the need for a person to cover his or her mouth with the sleeve on an arm as ways to prevent the spread of the flu.
Dexter said she also is scheduled to participate on Aug. 18 in an online seminar on the H1N1 flu involving officials with the Nebraska Department of Education and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Anderson said that trials on the H1N1 vaccine are under way. Depending on the results of those trials, it may be possible that people may need three vaccinations to be fully protected from the flu.
She said the vaccine trials will determine whether one H1N1 vaccination will be sufficient or whether people will need an initial H1N1 vaccination followed by an H1N1 booster shot.
Anderson said people also will need a separate vaccination to prevent getting seasonal flu.
At one time, health officials were debating whether it might be possible to mix the new H1N1 vaccine with the seasonal flu vaccine into a single shot, Anderson said. However, that idea was rejected.
There also was debate about whether an H1N1 vaccine and seasonal flu vaccine could be administered the same day, Anderson said. That idea also has been discarded.
The first widespread H1N1 outbreak was in Mexico City, with the outbreak having a fairly high mortality rate. One theory was the high mortality may have happened because the H1N1 flu appeared at the end of the regular flu season.
Anderson said health officials suspect that people may have come down with the regular flu, which left them with weakened immune systems to fight off the H1N1 flu.
Other than the Mexico City outbreak, the H1N1 flu has not been particularly lethal.
But Anderson said H1N1 is so highly contagious that it is officially a pandemic. She said one reason so much attention has been focused on H1N1 is that it can be highly disruptive to schools and businesses if an outbreak forces a high percentage of students or employees to miss school or work.
Anderson said H1N1 is a novel or new virus.
"Viruses are smart," said Anderson, who noted that means viruses can quickly evolve or mutate. As a result, there is concern the novel H1N1 virus could yet mutate into a strain that could cause more serious illness.
Anderson said the Central District Health Department could vaccinate people. She said it is undecided whether any attempt will be made to distribute the vaccine to private medical clinics for doctors to vaccinate their own patients.
As a result, it is possible that permission will be sought to use schools as vaccination sites. Anderson said that is another reason she met with GIPS officials this past week.
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