With Winter Fast Approaching, CEC 32 Updated On Swine Flu

As CEC 32 usually does, it handed out certificates of recognition to students from two District 32 schools. This month, P.S. 377 and P.S. 106 were honored. In the top photo, (standing from left to right), CEC 32 member Deborah Richardson presented awards to P.S. 377 students Sequoia Franklin and Shakira Johnson. Edward Ladines, who was also honored, was not in attendance; P.S. 377 Principal Dominic Zagami (far right) accepted the award on his behalf. In the bottom photo, P.S. 106 Principal Robert Flores in back) stands with (from left to right) Chantelly Medina, Karen Horta and Jobani Castro. (photos: Sam Goldman) The city Department of Health explained their plan to combat the swine flu this winter at the District 32 Community Education Council (CEC 32) meeting Oct. 15 at Bushwick’s P.S. 377.

Dr. Antoinette Williams-Akita of the city Department of Health (DOH) delivered a presentation on the city’s plans to deal with the swine flu.

She began her presentation with an overview of what she called “surveillance”— the process by which the DOH tracks and observes the spread of the virus and the city’s response.

After tracking the swine flu’s spread throughout the city this past spring, the agency has modified its plans accordingly.

Usually, she noted, two to three types of influenza circulate at a time, but the emergence of the H1N1 variation threw the DOH for a loop.

The virus spread from April to June, via face-to-face contact, coughing and sneezing. The age group most affected was five- to 17-year-olds, unlike most seasonal flus that hit the elderly hardest.

“More people died of the seasonal flu that happens every year,” Williams-Akita noted, with 1,100 deaths from the seasonal flu this year while only 54 died of H1N1.

The DOH’s winter investigation focused on “clusters” in schools where five or more children were found to be ill. In addition, the agency tracked emergency room visits and the results of private flu tests.

This surveillance will be repeated during the winter, with incidences of ILI (influenza-like illness) at city medical facilities being monitored.

This winter, seasonal and swine flus are both expected to circulate, but the swine flu variation is “not likely to cause high rates of severe illness.”

The city will disseminate information through a special website, www.nyc.gov/flu, which will be updated several times a day.

Vaccinations

The city is setting two separate priority lists for the seasonal and swine flu vaccine shots, respectively.

For the seasonal flu, the elderly, young, infirm, pregnant and parents of young children will get first crack at the flu shot.

For swine flu, the city will place a greater priority on children, teenagers, those who are pregnant or live with children under the age of six months, those with chronic conditions, and health care workers.

Sixty hospitals and 120 community centers throughout New York will be given the ability to dispense both vaccines, according to Williams- Akita; some pharmacies will also be distributing flu shots.

“This year, we’re not closing schools,” said Williams-Akita, noting that it affects the community and harms a child’s leaning process. Instead, sick children will be sent home and told not to come back until they are without fever for 24 hours. She urged parents and children to cover their sneezes and was their hands thoroughly.

Closure will only be considered, she later added, if four percent of a school’s population falls ill with the swine flu.

In the schools, swine flu vaccines will be given to elementary school students at their school, although the schedules will be different depending on the size of the school, according to the DOH’s Dr. Neil Somerfeld.

Elementary schools of under 400 children will receive vaccinations beginning on Oct. 28; schools of 400 to 600 students will receive vaccinations by Nov. 9, and schools of over 600 children will be vaccinated in waves beginning Nov. 4.

Parents must sign a permission slip to have their child vaccinated; “nobody’s vaccinating your student until you’ve given permission to do so,” said Somerfeld.

Junior high and high school students will be vaccinated at designated distribution sites beginning in the first weekend in November, which will be rotated to provide maximum access to vaccines. At combined junior high/elementary school facilities, the junior high-age students will still have to get vaccinations at a distribution site while the younger students will get their shots at their place of learning.

In response to a question from CEC 32 member Victorina Lugo, Somerfeld said that asthmatics should talk to their doctor, and that those with disorders such as Crohn’s disease should not fear any harmful effects from the vaccine.

Other news

District Superintendent Lillian Druck explained the Department of Education’s proposal to end social promotion in the fourth and sixth grades.

As it stands now, those are the only two grades between third and eighth grade that still promote students regardless of their skill level; the DOE began phasing out social promotion beginning in 2004.

She assured parents that there would be academic resources for students not meeting the benchmarks necessary for promotion as well as for their parents.

The vote by the Panel for Educational Policy will take place on Nov. 12.

Applications are due in two weeks for the gifted and talented student program at P.S. 376, at 194 Harman St., the district’s only such program, according to Brenda Perez, the school’s principal. The deadline to request testing for any program at any school is Nov. 6.

A charter school hearing for the proposed Bushwick Ascend Charter School will take place on Oct. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at P.S. 376, Druck reported.