OJR School District seeks H1N1 vaccine site status
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-10-23 08:46:55 | Word Count: 614
The Owen J. Roberts School District has registered with the state Department of Health to serve as a distribution site for the H1N1 virus vaccine.
As a vaccine provider, the district will be able to offer the vaccine to students at no cost once it becomes available. Initial doses will likely be provided to students ages 5-9.
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"I fully expect we will be approved (as a vaccine provider)," said Supervisor of Pupil Services David Hemberger. "The big question is, how much will we get and when will it be received?"
Information provided to the district by the Pennsylvania Department of Health indicated that initial supplies of the vaccine would be limited throughout the state, but would "rapidly increase in quantity throughout October and November."
Hemberger brought the matter up before the school board buildings and grounds committee recently, seeking approval to register the district as a distribution site. He told the committee that there could be a cost to the district, since vaccines would likely be given by school nurses after school hours. He did not speculate on what the cost might be.
The committee, composed of Chairman John Dutton, Eric Scheib and Debbie Bissland, agreed it was worth spending district funds on the vaccine.
"I'd like to see it made available to anybody," said Scheib. "I have no problem, if it's free, spending money for nurses."
Hemberger said Friday that he had applied to register the district following that meeting.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health will provide the vaccine to school districts that have registered this fall. Information given to the district from the department stated that 2.5 million doses are expected to be available in the state by the end of October.
The first, limited doses of the vaccine will go to the most vulnerable populations: pregnant women, children age 6 to 24 months, health care providers and emergency medical services personnel, caregivers of infants under 6 months old, and people age 65 with underlying medical conditions.
School children are also being targeted for the vaccine because more than 70 percent of all illnesses occur in children and young adults ages 5-24, spreading in group settings such as schools. Young children are more likely to spread the disease.
Therefore, initial doses given to school districts will target students ages 5 to 9 who will require two doses, ideally 28 days apart, of the nasal spray vaccine.
Three areas of the state have been identified as regions where, due to population density, the highest number of H1N1 cases are expected, including the southeast, southwest and north central.
Once the vaccine is available in the Owen J. Roberts School District, parents will be notified and given the option to bring their children in, at no cost. Parents will probably have to register to take advantage of the offer, Hemberger said, since the district will receive only a limited number of doses. Vaccines will then be administered on evenings and weekends, not while school is in session.
The Chester County Department of Health has agreed to assist the district with various aspects of distribution, including storing the vaccine and providing some nurses.
