Hands fly as students make close contact in gym class, despite fears over flu and flu like illnesses that have at times kept 15 percent of kids in Aurora home.
"We actually had our highest 164 students gone at one time," Superintendent Larry Raemakers said.
The school appears to have made it through the worst, thanks in part to an emphasis on good hygiene and thorough cleaning.
"Teachers would leave classrooms at the end of the day, custodians would come in and disinfect desks, doing everything we could to prevent more of the flu coming in," Raemakers said.
But one thing this school and many others haven't done is to cancel class.
Raemakers said, "For us to close school down it's a tough decision to make."
And one the Centers for Disease Control said may be a bad decision. Closing down would interrupt school and force some parents to stay home, missing work. Plus kids may be spreading H1N1 before they know they're sick. Instead, schools worry about getting kids vaccinated before it gets worse.
Dr. Robin Dexter, Assistant Superintendent in Grand Island said, "Grand Island Public Schools is working with the Central District Health Department to provide vaccinations at school sites. Right now we're trying to get a handle on how much vaccine we're going to need."
Officials in both Grand Island and Hastings said this week H1N1 activity is sporadic in schools.
Kearney administrators call it widespread.
In the smaller community of Aurora, attendance is back up, but now they fear another wave.
"That seasonal flu will affect us again," Raemakers said, encouraging families to consider both the H1N1 vaccine and the standard flu shot as well.
The decision to close school may have more to do with how it's affecting staff.
Teachers have also gotten sick, or have had to be home caring for kids. This has resulted in a shortage of substitutes in communities like Aurora. Plus Raemakers said some of the subs he would normally rely on have been sick, or filling in elsewhere, in other communities.
Local health departments like the one in Grand Island continue to receive a small amount of vaccine, saying as soon as they get it they run out. Central District Health Department Director Teresa Anderson said they have received smaller quantities than hoped for. Half has been given to clinics, hospitals, and physicians' offices. She said they ran out Tuesday but got more Wednesday.
Officials from the Two Rivers Health Department in Holdrege said they prioritize who should get the flu shot first. H1N1 influenza is widespread in the Two Rivers District. People under 25 years of age are most susceptible to infection from the virus. Through October 17th, there have been over 1400 doses of H1N1 vaccine administered to people in the Two Rivers district by local health care providers. The CDC groups that are currently prioritized for the vaccine include:
- Pregnant women
- People who live with or care for infants younger than 6 months
- Health care and emergency medical services personnel
- Children and young adults aged 6 months through 24 years
- Persons aged 25 through 64 years that have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications
All of the groups listed above are of equal priority. When these groups have been immunized, the healthy 25-64 years olds will be targeted, followed by those over 65 years of age.
As limited amounts of vaccine continue to become available they are distributed to local medical providers throughout the district according to population.
Continue to practice good health habits to keep you and your family healthy:
- Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer
- Cover your coughs and sneezes - this is how germs are spread
- Stay home if you are sick - for 24 hours after your fever is gone without the use of fever reducing medication
- Get your vaccination when it becomes available for your priority group.
Reporter's Notes by Steve White:
Wauneta-Palisade called off classes this week. The district already had a day off for a fall break. In Aurora, the superintendent said they will also be helped by the days kids will have off for conferences.
Grand Island has sent a consent letter home to parents, asking them to allow kids to get a flu shot at school.
The CDC does not necessarily advise schools to close during a flu outbreak. The CDC has said closing school could force parents to stay home, including moms and dads who themselves are health care workers.
