Swine Flu Won't Sully Schools' Schedules

Armed with a new vaccine and new knowledge of the virus, it appears Wilton Public Schools will not be letting the media's Swine Flu fever force them to close unnecessarily.

When the virus made its initial rounds last spring, many learning institutions halted operations at the first sight of illness, intent on preventing or slowing an expected pandemic. But, while the virus has proven severe in some cases, symptoms and outbreaks of swine/H1N1 flu have been relatively mild and that has lead superintendents and principals, alike, to keep their schools in session.

"There is no set level," Fire Chief Paul Milositz said in a Social Services Committee meeting earlier this month. Milositz is one of the heads of the Wilton Flu Response Team and was responding to a question about what percentage of absent children would be needed for schools to close. "We have decided we are going to keep the schools open until such time as it is impossible to make it work...if they cannot sustain the education effort, then they will close."

According to a recent report in the Hartford Courant, Wilton's stance is a statewide trend. Though one district where only 6 percent of its students were sick closed as recently as last month, generally schools are choosing to keep their doors open, both to help allay parents' childcare concerns and to keep up with the demands of their curricula and school calendars.

Milositz believes that vaccines and better education (proper hygiene techniques, for instance) have helped slow the flu's progression. He said Wilton had already hosted three clinics (not including one on the 17th) and had distributed around 300 vaccines to the high-priority groups, which largely include children from two to 24 years old with underlying medical conditions.

Statewide, 109 people have been hospitalized with the illness so far, including seven deaths (one in Fairfield County). Of these, the Courant reports 21 were between the ages of five and 18, meaning vaccinating children and teaching them good hygiene is particularly important.

Of course, vaccines are not always available. Milositz explained that the state has developed a distribution system for the vaccine that comes through the federal government. The state distributes it as they receive it, but there is currently a large-scale shortage, with only around 150,000 doses altogether, Milositz said.

"We've been having a problem, as you know, and the problem is on a manufacturing level," he added. "They misjudged the amount [of the virus] they could make and distribute."

Milositz explained that the H1N1 virus grows slower than the ordinary flu virus and this has limited the vaccine's production. He also said that in a rush to focus on the specialized virus, many companies may have slowed their production of the regular flu vaccine, leading to a shortage in that as well.

"We do not and will not expect to get any more seasonal flu vaccines for nursing and homecare distributors," Milositz said.

The limited availability of vaccines has meant the state and municipalities have had to develop priority groups for who can receive them first. Often, this means young children who are already susceptible to illness are targeted, while seniors are often pushed to the bottom. And though widespread outbreaks of both flu types have not occurred yet, many believe they will increase in strength and frequency as the weather gets colder, making preventative hygiene measures all the more important.

"When it gets colder and nastier, I think you're going to see an uptick in flu illnesses," Milositz said.