H1N1 INFLUENZA (SWINE FLU) ALERT
Parents and Guardians,
As a parent, you want to do everything possible to protect your children from the flu. This is especially important when a new flu virus like H1N1 flu is spreading. As you may know, flu can be easily spread from person to person. It’s important to remember that any flu virus can cause serious illness. We expect to see both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu this fall. During the spring H1N1 flu outbreak, school-age youth were the most affected group. So as the new school year begins, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) are planning for how to keep students healthy and schools open. DPH and DESE pledge to give you the most up-to-date information about the situation, based on the most recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who we work with very closely.
We want to work together with you to protect the health of students and provide the education they deserve. We will do this by preventing of the spread of the flu in schools and keeping schools open. Much of what we need to do has not changed since the spring of 2009. However there are some important changes.
• One of the main ways we can prevent the flu is by giving children flu shots against both types of flu.
• Your child can get a seasonal flu shot as soon as possible, possibly starting in early September.
• Your child should be able to get an H1N1 flu shot beginning in October.
• Children who have flu-like illness will have to stay home from school for a shorter period of time than they did last spring. Children should be kept home for least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever without the use of fever reducing medicines like Motrin, Advil, Tylenol or a store brand. For most children, this will be about 4 days.
Thank you for your help and cooperation in keeping our children and our schools healthy.
Please to read a swine flu fact sheet and vaccine information, which public health officials have provided to the school district:
Parent Fact Sheet
Action Steps for Parents to Prevent the Spread of Flu
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 4 main
ways you and your family may keep from getting sick with the flu at school
and at home:
1. Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and
water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are
also effective.
2. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If
You don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder; not into
your hands.
3. Stay home if you or your child is sick for at least 24 hours after there is
no longer a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reducing
medicine). Keeping sick students at home means that they keep their viruses
to themselves rather than sharing them with others.
4. Get your family vaccinated for seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu when
vaccines are available.
Follow these steps to prepare for the flu during the 2009-2010 school year:
1.Plan for child care at home if your child gets sick or their school is dismissed.
2.Plan to monitor the health of the sick child and any other children in the
household by checking for fever and other symptoms of flu.
3.Identify if you have children who are at higher risk of serious disease from
the flu and talk to your healthcare provider about a plan to protect them
during the flu season. Children at high risk of serious disease from the flu
include: children under 5 years of age and those children with chronic medical
conditions, such as asthma and diabetes.
4.Identify a separate room in the house for the care of sick family members.
5.Update emergency contact lists.
6.Collect games, books, DVDs and other items to keep your family entertained
if schools are dismissed or your child is sick and must stay home
