“We can all work to keep ourselves healthy now by practicing prevention, close monitoring, and using common sense,” Duncan said. “We know that some students may be affected by H1N1. Our top priority is making sure that they have a way to get well, stay well, and keep learning.”
Sebelius stressed the importance of using innovative communications strategies to reach out to students who are most at risk for H1N1 flu, and she highlighted new social media tools and online toolkits that have been created to help faculty, staff, and students at colleges and universities.
“The H1N1 flu appears to be impacting a group of people who not only aren’t used to getting serious cases of the flu but are not used to getting flu shots,” said Sebelius.
“They are also people who get their information in different ways and places than public health information has traditionally been given out. It is imperative that the public and private sector work together to reach students with critical information about the flu and teach them what to do when the flu hits their dorm room, fraternity house, or campus classroom.”
HHS created a special toolkit for administrators and students, as well some badges and widgets that can be used on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word about swine-flu prevention.
The new guidance suggests that the most important actions institutions can take are to encourage and facilitate good hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes; encourage flu vaccination for recommended groups when vaccine becomes available; and separate sick people from well people as soon as possible.
Federal officials commented on the need for different institutions to tailor the strategies to their own unique circumstances, based on their location, student population, resources, and information from local health officials about the severity and spread of flu in their area–and schools are encouraged to partner with local health officials and others in their community to plan for the upcoming flu season.
Sebelius said clinical trials of the swine flu vaccine “look good,” and it could possibly be administered by mid-October.
“We anticipate using schools as partners to make sure that we reach out to kids who are a priority population to get the vaccination,” she said.
Links:
Note to readers:
Don’t forget to visit the Preparing for a Pandemic resource center. U.S. students are lagging behind their peers in other countries in math achievement, fortunately education companies are responding with solutions. Go to: Preparing for a Pandemic
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