As teachers fuss over lesson plans and college freshmen fret over meeting their roommates, K-12 and university administrators are preparing to deal with another, less familiar back-to-school worry: swine flu.
Though local public school systems and universities survived last spring's initial spread of the H1N1 virus with few interruptions, fears that a mutated flu could strike with renewed vigor have them formulating plans to deal with outbreaks. The message across these institutions is similar: Don't expect to close because of swine flu, but be ready to function while caring for numerous sick students.
Whether they are kindergartners going to school for the first time or college seniors, students will encounter lots of signs telling them to take H1N1 seriously. Hand sanitizer and tissues will be widely available. And because those ages 6 months to 24 years old are especially susceptible to contracting H1N1, mass vaccinations are expected.
Last May, state health officials closed half a dozen schools when each had at least one suspected case of swine flu, but they say the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have more experience with the virus and are taking a far different approach in guiding local school systems.
"It will be highly unlikely that schools will be closed due to this virus," said Frances Phillips, deputy secretary for public health services at the state health department. "The new guidance has a different tone to it. The inclination and the bias is to keep schools open and yet keep children safe."
Local school systems will emphasize hand-washing and mouth-covering, and say they're ready for vaccinations on a scale not seen since polio in the 1950s.
At the University of Maryland, College Park, administrators are preparing to vaccinate 2,000 students on Oct. 15. They'll be giving out vaccine for seasonal flu, but they regard the exercise as a trial run for dispensing H1N1 vaccine (expected later in the fall) widely and quickly.
"We'll be getting people vaccinated, but we'll also be testing our own ability to deliver health services somewhere other than the health center," Linda Clement, vice president for student affairs, said of the plan to vaccinate students at the school's old basketball gym. Clement hopes such events will steer students toward preventive measures because closing a campus with more than 11,000 residents would be difficult.
