Officials urge widespread vaccination at state’s schools

By Gillian Graham
Staff Writer

With students returning to school this week, health officials are bracing for a surge in the number of H1N1 flu cases across the country.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone, especially those in high-risk groups, receive the H1N1 flu vaccine when it is ready this fall. The state has ordered 200,000 seasonal flu vaccines – enough for every student in the state – that will be administered free of charge for those who want it. H1N1 vaccines will be given free of charge, according to state officials.
Jay Butler, director of the U.S. CDC’s H1N1 Vaccine Task Force, said in a recent press briefing that there were more than a million H1N1 flu cases between April and June in the United States, and The World Health Organization predicts more than one third of the world’s population will catch the H1N1 flu within two years.
According to Butler, 45 to 52 million vaccine doses will be available by mid-October.  An additional 195 million doses will be ready by the end of the year.
“I was raised that it’s better to err on the side of health and safety than to not. That’s going to be our motto this year,” Gov. John Baldacci said at the start of a statewide H1N1 preparedness summit last month in Augusta. “We have the best people in the state working together to make sure we have the resources we need.”
Last spring, Baldacci convened the H1N1 Response Committee, which was comprised of representatives from several state agencies, including health and human services, public safety, education and emergency management. Health officials have confirmed hundreds of cases of HINI statewide and one death.
Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said school-aged children are major transmitters of H1N1. Because of that, it is essential schools are involved in planning for an increase and spread messages about prevention, she said.
Commissioner Brenda Harvey of the Department of Health and Human Services asked people at the summit to be “good models of respiratory hygiene” by washing hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home when sick.  If others are not practicing good respiratory hygiene, she said, “we have a shared responsibility to point it out.”
Harvey also urged everyone to get both the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines when they become available.  The seasonal flu vaccine will be available soon and the H1N1 vaccine is expected to be released by mid-October. She said it is especially important pregnant women, those between the ages of six months and 24 years old and people with underlying health issues receive the vaccine. Additionally, health care providers and emergency medical workers should be vaccinated, she said.
“We certainly all are hoping for the best this fall but we must prepare for the worst,” Harvey said.
Susan Gendron, commissioner of the Department of Edcuation, said the department worked closely with the U.S. Center for Disease Control and state agencies last spring as H1N1 began to spread.  Officials also looked back to the 1918 flu pandemic – more people died from the flu that year than in World War I – for guidance on how to handle widespread outbreaks, she said.
Gendron said officials are very aware of how disruptive school closings are in the community. With guidance from the federal CDC, state officials are encouraging schools to develop plans to deal with outbreaks without closing schools.
According to Gendron, contingencies could include isolating sick students, teaching proper hygiene, figuring out how to cover for sick teachers and developing ways to continue lessons if schools need to be closed.   
Vaccinating students is an essential step in preventing the spread of flu through schools and the community, said Gendron. 
“This is absolutely one of the critical steps,” she said. “Illness in a school setting affects everyone in the community.”
School districts across the state have until Sept. 8 to decide if they will take part in a program to provide seasonal flu shots to students in schools.  Gendron said roughly half of districts in the state have signed on, which will provide about 95,000 students with the vaccine. The shots, provided for free by the federal government, will be optional.
Mills said state officials are working closely with superintendents to plan the best way to administer vaccines to students, including forming partnerships with area health agencies to administer the shots.
Around one-third of people in the high priority group for H1N1 vaccines are in schools most of the day, she said.
“It makes sense to go where our kids are, and that’s our schools,” she said. “To me, it’s extremely important to get as many of our kids vaccinated as possible.”

Superintendent Michael Lafortune of RSU 23 – which covers Saco, Dayton and Old Orchard Beach – said four school nurses attended the summit to gather information for school officials. A team that includes the nurses and a doctor will meet once school begins to continue planning for a flu outbreak.
Lafortune said district officials are exploring the idea of providing seasonal flu shots to students.  The district is trying determine the best way to work with local resources to administer shots.  School officials recognize the “demand will be great” for vaccines of both seasonal flu and H1N1, he said.
“We’re obviously watching it real closely to figure out what is the best way to do things,” Lafortune said.
Andrew Dolloff, superintendent of RSU 21 in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel, said the district put measures in place last spring to deal with widespread illness. Kennebunk Elementary School was closed temporarily because of a flu outbreak.
“We’re kind of out there in front. We’re comfortable with what we have in terms of dealing with an outbreak,” Dolloff said.
Dolloff said the district will make a decision soon about providing vaccines to students. Once school nurses are back at work, they will meet with the district’s consulting doctor to talk about the process of providing vaccines, he said.
Kathleen Taggersell, director of communications at the University of New England in Biddeford, said a pandemic flu team has been meeting since last April to monitor the H1N1 situation.
“We’ve been very active since then,” she said. “We’re definitely preparing.”
Taggersell said seven people from all areas of the university attended the summit to gather information.
School officials also have worked closely with the CDC to make plans for dealing with sick students and staff, she said.

The university will launch a Web page connected to the school Web site to provide updated information, said Taggersell, who added that everyone on campus is being reminded about proper hand washing, covering coughs and staying home when sick.
“We’re very concerned about keeping everyone safe,” Taggersell said. “We’re obviously very attuned to this issue and we’re doing everything we can to follow (health officials’) recommendations.”
Barbara Hazard, dean of students at UNE, said the university has had plans in place for years to deal with pandemics. This week, a letter was sent to students suggesting they bring hand sanitizer and thermometers with them to the dorm and, if possible, get a seasonal flu vaccine from their primary care physician.
Because many students live in residence halls, resident assistants will be trained to provide information about symptoms and the importance of staying isolated and visiting the health clinic when sick, Hazard said.
The university also will provide masks for sick students to wear when they leave their rooms, but Hazard said sick students will be encouraged to go home, if that is a reasonable option.
Students who cannot leave campus will likely be isolated in empty single dorm rooms when available, or their roommates may chose to stay elsewhere to avoid contracting the flu.  The university has plans to provide sick students meal deliveries and distance learning options.
Recognizing prevention is essential to limit the spread of H1N1, Hazard said. The university will provide both seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines to students and high-risk faculty. Further, the university works closely with the CDC to monitor developments, she said.

While schools are preparing for a flu pandemic, area churches and socials service agencies also are looking for ways to help. Rev. Shirley Bowen of Christ Episcopal Church in Biddeford attended the summit along with more than 100 other Episcopal church leaders.
“We believe that in any kind of health emergency that the churches can help play a supportive role,” Bowen said.
Bowen said Christ Episcopal Church has contact with many people, both for church services and through the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center. Church officials can educate the public, raise awareness about basic hygiene and assist with planning for clinics, she said. The church will host two seasonal flu clinics in October and has offered to host additional clinics for H1N1 vaccines.
“We certainly are more than willing,” Bowen said. “We have a lot of people who come through our doors.
For more information about H1N1, go to www.maineflu.gov.

Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337.