H1N1 clinics set up

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District will hold two H1N1 vaccination clinics in coming weeks, as the swine flu continues its onslaught on area schoolchildren.

Wednesday saw a swell of the disease at Newport Harbor High School, where seven classrooms each saw at least a fifth of their students call in absent.

To date, 123 cases of swine flu have been reported throughout the district. Overall, more than 10% of the student body was absent at Newport Harbor High on Wednesday. Two classrooms at each of three other schools — Eastbluff, Mariners and Newport Coast elementary schools — saw “clusters” of at least 20% of students reporting absent Wednesday.

In addition, Sonora and Woodland elementaries each had one classroom with “cluster” numbers Wednesday.

College Park Preschool saw 10% or more of its morning class call in absent Wednesday. At Rea and Sonora preschools, at least 10% of students were absent.

Such absences do not necessarily indicate H1N1, the district said; students and staff may report absent due to standard seasonal flu, cold or other reasons.

Earlier this month, College Park Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Corona del Mar High, Newport Coast Elementary, College Park Preschool, Woodland Elementary and Victoria Elementary schools experienced either clusters of absences or overall 10% absence rates.

Plan of attack

From 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 7 in the multipurpose room at Mariners Elementary School, 2100 Mariners Drive, the district’s Health Services Department will offer the nasal mist vaccine to district students, families and staff members ages 2 to 49 who are in good health.

The injectable version also will be available for high-risk children ages 6 months to 18 years.

A similar event will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 18 at Rea Elementary’s Multipurpose Room, 661 Hamilton Ave., Costa Mesa.

The free nasal spray vaccine is now available, and is especially recommended for healthy children ages 2 to 10.

It also is recommended for those ages 2 to 49 who are in regular contact with infants younger than 6 months.

Groups told to receive the vaccine shot instead of the spray include those with severe allergies to egg or vaccine components; pregnant women; anyone with a weakened immune system or long-term health problem; those with asthma or wheezing; those on long-term aspirin therapy; those with a history of Guillain-Barre Syndrome; and those who received the seasonal flu version of the spray within the past month.

In addition, the HOPE Clinic at 2045 Meyer Place, Costa Mesa is now taking appointments and administering the nasal spray version of the H1N1 vaccine.

For information, call (949) 515-6725.

Isaac Beshay at Family Doctors, 2200 Harbor Blvd., Suite B210, Costa Mesa, also will offer the nasal spray H1N1 vaccine to healthy people younger than 24 and caregivers from 8 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; no appointment is required, and the office is open until 6 p.m. Mondays and Fridays, as well as 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

Most insurance agencies will cover the administrative fee for the vaccine; those without coverage will be charged an administrative fee of $25. For families of two or more, a $5 discount will be given.

For more information, call (949) 548-2273.

Help is on the way

Orange County providers have received about 29,000 doses of the nasal H1N1 FluMist vaccine to date; the first allocation of the vaccine is intended for healthy children ages 2 to 18 and healthy caregivers of infants younger than 6 months.

By mid-November, the county health agency anticipates that about 500,000 doses of both the injectable and FluMist vaccines will be available in the county.

Until sufficient supplies are available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requests that the injectable vaccine be limited to pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months, health-care and emergency medical services personnel, people 6 months through 24 years, and people from ages 25 to 64 who are at higher risk for H1N1 complications because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

About 10% of the county’s vaccine supply will be made available through Kaiser Permanente.

More than 1,000 private health-care providers will receive the vaccine, as well as many educational institutions and hospitals.

At Newport-Mesa, school nurses are tracking absences. Schools that reach a 10% overall absence rate or 20% or more absent students in one class contact the Orange County Health Care Agency and are reported on the district website, nmusd.ca.schoolloop.com/swineflu.

Letters are sent home in such situations, and students or staff who exhibit flu-like symptoms in school are sent home.

No school closures are planned at this time.

Preventive measures

To avoid getting sick, students, staff and families are asked to cover their nose and mouth when they cough or sneeze, throw away their tissue after using it, wash their hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing, use alcohol-based hand cleaners and avoid close contact with sick people.

Those who get sick, particularly those who exhibit fevers of 100 degrees or higher, are asked to stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Students should stay home until they haven’t had a fever (and haven’t used fever-reducing medicines like Tylenol) for 24 hours.

Emergency warning signs that warrant urgent medical attention include a bluish or gray skin color, dehydration, no tears when crying, severe or persistent vomiting, strong irritability, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, dizziness, confusion or a return of flu-like symptoms with a fever and worse cough.

To date, 102 cases of H1N1 in the county have resulted in intensive care treatment at area hospitals.

There have been 23 probable or confirmed H1N1 fatalities countywide.

What To Do

There are several countywide options for those seeking both seasonal and H1N1 immunizations:

 In the county’s first free H1N1 FluMist clinics, the vaccine will be administered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at both Irvine Valley College, 5500 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, in Building A300, Room 307, and Santa Ana College, 1530 W. 17th St., Santa Ana, in Building U in the Johnson Center.

 The vaccine is reserved for healthy children ages 2 to 9, and healthy adults younger than 49 who care for infants younger than 6 months. Children will need a second vaccination four weeks after receiving the first, and will receive priority treatment.

 Additional countywide H1N1 vaccination clinics are planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 7. More details will be made available at the county health department’s website, ochealthinfo.com/h1n1/.

 Free seasonal (non-H1N1) flu shots will be given to healthy people 3 and older from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday at Santa Ana College, 1530 W. 17th St., Santa Ana, Crystal Cathedral, 13280 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove and Cox Communications, 29947 Avenida de las Banderas, Rancho Santa Margarita.

 People who arrive sick, are allergic to eggs, have had reactions to flu shots or have a history of Guillain-Barre Syndrome cannot receive flu shots.