Published: October 29, 2009 10:43 pm         

H1N1 flu vaccine remains behind schedule for Indiana

Vigo County School Corp. closely monitorning attendance rates

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana health officials say the state remains far behind in its expected availability of H1N1 flu vaccine as instances of the illness continue increasing among residents.

State health Commissioner Judy Monroe said Thursday that the state has ordered 479,500 doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine so far. Many of them have been received and the rest should arrive in the next few days.

That’s still only about half of what the state had expected to receive by this time as there have been nationwide delays in vaccine production.

The agency says Indiana had 10 H1N1 flu-related deaths as of last Friday. Thirty-nine Indiana schools reported absentee rates of 20 percent or more last week.

Monroe says there’s no telling when H1N1 flu cases will subside.

State officials emphasized that closing schools with high rates of influenza-like illness is a local decision. If too many teachers or students are absent, that could make it difficult to conduct school.

The Centers for Disease Control has changed its recommendations as far as closing schools, Monroe said. Some schools were closed last spring, but what school and public health officials noticed was that it didn’t prevent the spread of illness, she said. “Kids got together in other ways” and transmission of the disease continued, she said.

Now what’s being recommended is that schools work with local health officials “and determine what is best for that school,” Monroe said.

Ray Azar, director of student services with the Vigo County School Corp., said officials are closely monitoring attendance rates.

Some schools have had about a 20 percent absentee rate, but those include all absences — not just illness.

Under normal conditions, schools on average have about 5 percent of students absent, and the absenteeism is higher right now.

“We haven’t found any rate that would justify a school closing,” he said. The number of absences may be high for a day or two, but then level off.

If a school has a 20 percent absentee rate, the state Department of Education is notified, he said.

“The 20-percent point is where we start thinking about what-ifs,” but many factors would be taken into account. School officials would examine whether most of the absences are due to influenza-like illness, and whether that high rate is sustained over several days.

Officials would evaluate whether or not closing the school would help the situation.

The Centers for Disease Control is now saying that closing a school “should be the very last thing you do,” Azar said.

The best course of action is for students with influenza-like illnesses to stay home and not return until their symptoms are gone, he said.



Staff reporter Sue Loughlin contributed to this report. She can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.