NEW YORK—Earlier this week the city announced its $30 million plan to give free vaccines to each student in its school system. As school begins this week, parents and students will be receiving information concerning the upcoming vaccinations.
Under the city’s plan, each public and parochial elementary school will provide free vaccines for the regular flu as well as the swine flu in mid- to late-October. For middle and high schoolers, vaccinations will be administered for free at off-campus sites on weekends. The vaccine will either be a shot or a nasal spray called FluMist.
In each case, parents will have to sign a consent form and the shots will be given in two batches, three to four weeks apart.
Approximately 600,000 people are expected to be vaccinated in mid-October and 250,000 more each following week of the flu season, according to Department of Health estimates. The city expects the federal government to foot the bill.
Teaching Good Habits
To raise awareness about germ-abating practices, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein took a five-borough tour to schools. “I keep saying to parents, we’ve really got to teach our kids to sneeze into their sleeve, to wash their hands, and, if a kid’s not feeling well, keep the kid home,” he said at Staten Island Technical High School on Wednesday according to a report in Staten Island Advance.
Each of the city’s 1,500 public schools began the semester plastered with signs, posters, and classroom instruction on covering coughs and washing hands.
Klein also sent letters home to parents concerning sanitation. A list of frequently asked questions about flu—symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment will be sent home as well.
System-Wide Monitoring
Though keeping schools open is a priority for the city, a school that receives more than 15 student flu complaints could be temporarily shut down. To monitor the daily count, the number of cases will be collected from school nurses and published on www.nyc.gov/flu.
As a preemptive measure, schools that witness five or more sick students on a single day will send mass reminders to parents to keep sick children home.
Students kept home with flu-like symptoms are advised to stay out of school until their symptoms improve and their temperature is normal (98.6° F) for at least 24 hours.
