Published: October 08, 2009 08:14 am      

Health, school officials prepare for swine flu

Vaccines begin to arrive in county

In an attempt to keep the youth of Madison County safe from the dangers of H1N1, more commonly known as swine flu, school and health officials are busy readying for any possible threats, while preparing to distribute the vaccine.

“We know that the H1N1 influenza is here in Madison County,” James Rousey, public health director, said in a press release from the Madison County Health Department.

“It is widespread across the state of Kentucky,” Rousey said. “No matter how well we prepare, Madison County could experience a serious case of H1N1 that might result in hospitalization or even death. Both seasonal flu and the H1N1 influenza are serious diseases. The death of a student in Caldwell County reminds us of how tragic the H1N1 influenza can be.”

Members of the Madison County Health Department, Madison County Schools and Berea Independent Schools met Wednesday to discuss options to keep local children safe and provide opportunities for immunization.

“It was a great first step,” said Tommy Floyd, superintendent of Madison County Schools. “We’ll try to access the many decisions that have to be made to give the best opportunity for our entire school age community to get past this thing.”

Schools will keep parents up to date with newsletters, as well as other sources, such as the Madison County Schools Web site, Floyd said.

“We’re going to do our part to make sure parents are kept in the loop,” Floyd said.

Students will be given H1N1 informational packets to take home to parents. With parental permission, students can begin receiving the vaccine at school the first week of November.

“At no time will anyone participate without parental permission,” said Floyd.

Vaccines also will be available on Saturdays at the Madison County Health Department.

“We are finding that the general public outcry here and in the schools is getting strong,” said Christie Green, spokesperson for the Madison County Health Department.

“We want to make sure parents have everything they need,” she said.

Currently, the health department has a small amount of the live, intranasal vaccine, which is recommended for healthy children 2 to 4 years of age and for healthy adult caregivers of infants less than six months of age.

A shipment of inactivated vaccine in injection form is expected to arrive soon. That vaccine is recommended for pregnant women and children with chronic health conditions.

The vaccine for the general public should arrive shortly and will be available for providers within seven to 10 days.

“We are going to give the largest portion of our first two shipments to providers in the county who serve children and pregnant women,” Rousey said. “Once that vaccine is distributed, people may begin hearing from their providers.”

The presence of swine flu has had an affect on other areas in Madison County.

Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center announced this week that visitors under 18 are no longer allowed in the Women’s Care Center, as a precaution to protect infants.

This new rule went into effect on Oct. 1 and will continue indefinitely, according to Jill Williams, spokesperson for the hospital.

There have been 10 reported cases of swine flu in Madison County, according to information obtained from the Kentucky Department for Public Health.

Kentucky’s current flu activity level is widespread.

Widespread activity is described as the highest level of flu activity, which indicates increased flu-like activity or flu outbreaks in at least half of the regions in a state.

For more information, call the Madison County Health Department in Richmond at 623-7312 or the Martha Pride Community Health Center in Berea at 986-1192. For general information about H1N1, call the Kentucky H1N1 hotline at 1-877-843-7727.

Tim Mandell can be reached at tmandell@richmondregister.com or 623-1669 ext. 6696.