RutlandHerald.com - We Are Vermont

Swine flu hits Montpelier High School

37 clinics scheduled for people at risk

MONTPELIER – One day after 35 percent of the student body at Montpelier High School stayed home with illnesses that included influenza, the Vermont Health Department is holding a public forum tonight for central Vermont residents to learn more about the H1N1 – or swine flu — virus.

In addition, the Vermont Health Department has scheduled 37 public vaccination clinics outside the school setting for people at high risk of H1N1. A clinic, which is co-sponsored by Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, is scheduled in Montpelier for Nov. 23 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. A Barre clinic is set for Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Municipal Auditorium. The vaccinations are free of charge, the Health Department said.

These clinics are focused on people at particular risk of the disease: Pregnant women, caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age, health care and emergency medical services personnel, people from 6 months through 24 years of age, and people aged 25 through 64 who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from flu.

Those complications include people with chronic lung disease, such as asthma; chronic heart, kidney or liver disease; diabetes; compromised immune systems due to disease or treatment; and neuromuscular conditions.

To date, the department has been focusing on getting the limited amount of vaccine to schools, where they can target children for vaccination. But some vaccine has also been distributed to other outlets, including physicians' offices and hospitals, according to Nancy Erickson, communications director at the department. And now to public clinics around the state, she added.

"Every week we get to order more vaccine and we get more vaccine," said Erickson. "As we get it in, we're moving it out to all those places."

MHS Principal Peter Evans said Monday that 102 students were missing from school. After calling homes to confirm the absences, Evans said some students reported suffering from strep throat, while the bulk described flu symptoms.

"We're hit," Evans said of the flu outbreak. He said he's not surprised by the numbers because other schools around the area – including U-32 Middle and High School in East Montpelier and Spaulding High School in Barre – have experienced recent spikes in absenteeism in recent weeks.

He said the challenge for teachers at MHS when such a large number of students are missing is to keep education moving forward for those who attend, "knowing when the kids who are out come back we're going to have to back up a little bit."

Twinfield Union School also appears to be suffering an influenza outbreak, said Principal Owen Bradley, who said 70 students were out Monday, compared to just 20 last year at the same time. That is about a sixth of the student body at Twinfield, which has around 430 students.

Meanwhile, the Plainfield Health Center, which had 320 doses of vaccine, Monday held a clinic to vaccinate staff, then patients on a triage basis. Nursing Staff Manager Lauri Snetsinger said the center is nearly out of vaccine, and has no idea when more might be on the way.

In addition, Central Vermont Medical Center officials said Monday that the emergency room has seen a sharp increase in people coming in with suspected swine flu – at this point virtually all influenza is believed to be the H1N1 strain – and the hospital is preparing to open a separate influenza clinic to relieve the pressure on the ER.

Judy Tarr, CEO at CVMC, said the number of patients visiting the emergency room with flu-like symptoms has steadily climbed from 57 on Oct. 1, to 98 on Oct. 23, to 118 on Nov. 1. She said when the number hits 120, the facility's contingency plan will be implemented to offer an off-site clinic for physician assistants to handle the cases.

Serious flu cases will be referred back to the emergency room, Tarr said. In most cases, however, the medical advice for seasonal and H1N1 influenza is the same: Stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine, cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, clean your hands often and when you cough or sneeze.

The Health Department reported recently that Vermont has experienced widespread H1N1 influenza in all regions. To date, only one death has been reported from the disease, and that case involved an adult with another serious medical condition, placing the victim in the high-risk group.

Tonight's forum, which is sponsored by the Health Department, the regional home health agencies and the Visiting Nurse Associations, will be conducted by someone from the regional office in Barre. The forum is designed to update the public on vaccination plans, and provide information about the H1N1 and seasonal flu. The forum gets under way at 6 p.m. at the Capital Plaza in Montpelier and is open to the public.