NOTIFICATIONS
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November 4, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Please clarify that the Kirkwood School District's free H1N1 vaccination clinic on Nov. 5 is for the district's school-age students, K-12, only. The release below includes the clarification.
Kirkwood School District offers Free H1N1 Vaccinations for Students on Nov. 5
In partnership with Des Peres Hospital, the Kirkwood School District will hold a FREE vaccination clinic for the district’s school-age students, K-12, on Nov. 5 from 5 - 8 p.m. at North Kirkwood Middle School - South Gym, 11287 Manchester Road. Parents are asked to arrive no earlier than 4:30 p.m. Clinic doors will open at 5 p.m.
The St. Louis County Health Department has notified the Kirkwood School District that it can expect to receive 700 vaccinations (shots) and 300 FluMists (nasal sprays) on Thursday, Nov. 5.
All students must have a signed consent form from a parent in order to be vaccinated at the clinic. Parents are asked to bring the signed consent form previously sent home with their child to the clinic. If you have already submitted your consent form to your child’s school, you are also welcome to bring your child to the clinic. Consent forms will be available at the clinic.
Vaccine Information:
Children 9 years and younger who have already received the seasonal FluMist nasal spray must wait 28 days before receiving the H1N1 FluMist nasal spray.
Children 9 years and younger who receive either form of the H1N1 vaccination (FluMist nasal spray or a shot), will need a second immunization 21-28 days from the first immunization. Children older than 9 years and adults need only one dose of H1N1 vaccine.
St. Louis County will provide information regarding future supplies of the vaccine for the second immunization.
PLEASE NOTE: Those with egg allergies or a history of other severe allergies are not eligible to receive any form of the H1N1 vaccine.
H1N1 updates will be posted on the district’s website at www.kirkwoodschools.org.
For more information about H1N1, visit www.flu.gov
Update from Superintendent of Schools
October 27, 2009
The U.S. Department of Health and Senior Services has issued NEW priority guidelines for administering H1N1 vaccinations due to the limited supply of the vaccine. The new priority guidelines are included below. Based on the new priority list, the district will not be receiving H1N1 vaccination for K-12 students from St. Louis County Health at this time. Therefore, our scheduled vaccination clinic for Oct. 29-31 has been canceled as well as plans to vaccinate students in their home schools. Please keep your consent forms at home until we receive further directions from St. Louis County Health.
We regret any inconvenience this may cause our families. As always, the health and well being of our students and staff is our top priority. We will continue to practice the precautions we have implemented in classrooms to help reduce the spread of the flu. School nurses will continue to monitor student health throughout the day.
St. Louis County Health has notified the district that parents should contact their pediatrician if they believe their child meets the new priority guidelines. There also will be several public clinics where those who meet the new priority guidelines may receive the vaccination. Please go to http://www.stlouisco.com/doh/ to monitor posting of the public clinics.
Families are encouraged to practice good hand washing at home and to remind family members to cover their mouths with a tissue or sleeve when sneezing or coughing. Sick students and staff members should stay home if they have flu-like symptoms and not return to school until they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the aid of fever reducing medication.
Again, I want to assure you that the Kirkwood School District will continue to work with the St. Louis County Health Dept. to obtain H1N1 vaccinations. We will continue to update the district website as information about the H1N1 vaccinations becomes available.
New Priority Guidelines
Because the initially available quantities of these vaccines are limited, they should, at this time, be given to persons in the following priority groups (note that the order of the target groups does not indicate priority):
Pregnant women, Persons who live with or provide care for infants aged <6 months (e.g., parents, siblings, and daycare providers),
Health-care and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients or infectious material,
Children aged 6 months - 4 years, and
Children and adolescents aged 5 - 18 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications. These conditions include chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, cognitive, neurologic/neuromuscular, hematologic, or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus); or immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus).
Update from Superintendent of Schools
October 3, 2009
In September the district sent you information regarding the 2009-10 flu season and the district’s plans for meeting the health and safety needs of students and staff. Since our last communication, school nurses have been receiving absence reports of flu-like symptoms from some students and staff. The H1N1 (swine) flu is a strain of Type A flu. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is not recommending testing to identify the specific strain of the flu. Therefore, the district does not have complete information related to specific numbers of H1N1 cases and will not be sending out notification letters related to reports of flu-like symptoms.
The district plans to participate in the St. Louis County Health Dept. school-age vaccination plan. As you may have seen or read in the media, the procedures for administering the vaccination have not been finalized as of this date. As soon as the district receives information regarding the finalized vaccination plan, the district will initiate parent letters and calls regarding permission forms and vaccination logistics. The district has developed several vaccination plans that provide opportunities for parents to be present with their child. These plans include the possibility of administering the vaccinations at home schools during the day as well as North Kirkwood Middle School after school hours.
Thank you for your continued efforts in keeping your child home whenever he or she exhibits flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue). Please remember your child must remain at home until he or she is fever free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicines.
If you have concerns regarding the flu and your child, please contact your family physician. If you have a question about flu precautions, please contact your school nurse or visit the district’s website at www.kirkwoodschools.org and click on the link “Flu Season 2009-10.” Preventative measures for reducing the spread of the flu are also included at the bottom of this e-mail.
KSD Preventative Measures:
- Hand washing: Germ-X hand sanitizer will be available in all classrooms. Teachers will provide time for children to wash their hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer as needed throughout the day.
- Routine cleaning: All teachers will receive an approved cleaning solution to use on classroom surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact. The custodial staff will continue routine surface cleaning in the classrooms at the end of each school day.
- School nurses will monitor student health throughout the day.
- Preventative Measures for Families:
- Emphasize and practice good hand washing at home. Remind family members to cover their mouths with a tissue or sleeve when sneezing or coughing.
- Sick students and staff members should stay home if they have flu-like symptoms and not return to school until they have been fever-free for 24 hours (without the aid of fever reducing medication). Flu-like symptoms include fever with a cough or sore throat. Please notify the school office if your child exhibits these symptoms and indicate if he or she has been diagnosed with the flu.
- Ongoing Communication:
- The KSD website will be the primary source of information about flu season. Updated information is posted under the link “Flu Season 2009-10” on the left side of the district’s website (www.kirkwoodschools.org).
- The district’s website also provides several links to local and national health organizations that can answer questions about the flu.
- Information about the district’s plans for implementing the St. Louis County Health vaccination plan will be mailed directly to district families when available.
Update On Influenza A H1N1
08-26-2009:You may have heard recent reports about the Influenza A-H1N1 vaccination campaign. Our district plans to participate in the St. Louis County school-age vaccination plan. We will partner with local health officials and communicate information as soon as it is available. We have a “HEALTH” link under the parent tab on our website, we will use this link and various other communications to keep you informed.
Here is what we know:
This fall we must play defense. The Influenza A H1N1 is more contagious and spreads more rapidly than the regular flu, which means it will be more disruptive in our schools.
The main message is:
• Better hygiene is mandatory
• Cover your cough : “Cough and sneeze into your elbow, not hands!”
• Wash your hands
• Stay home if you are ill
• Go home if you become ill
• Teach and expect good personal habits
• Routine cleaning of heavily used surfaces with approved solutions is most effective
School districts are asked to inform parents and ask for their help in ensuring ill children stay home for 24 hours after fever resolves, usually 3-5 days. The Department of Health (DOH) recommends normal cleaning. Routine cleaning of heavily used surfaces with approved products is effective.
Information from St. Louis County Re Vaccinations
In mid to late October the St. Louis County Health Department plans to distribute vaccine for the Influenza A H1N1 to school and health care professionals. The DOH wants schools to administer a two dose vaccination series 21-28 days apart to the preK-12th grade student population. Other priority groups (pregnant women and people with chronic diseases) will be addressed through public clinics or private providers.
The DOH will provide all school districts with parent permission forms, the vaccine and all the medical supplies needed to administer the vaccine. School districts will use their existing nurses or hire temporary nurses to help administer the vaccine.