Parents: Add flu vaccine to back-to-school preparations
By Dana Benson
Parents usually have a lot of issues and tasks to deal with to get their children ready to go back to school. Reestablishing routines and clothes and school supply shopping become their focus.
This year parents should add another item to their to-do list – making sure their children get vaccinated for the seasonal flu. It's an especially good idea to get this vaccine out of the way since the H1N1 (swine) influenza vaccine is expected to be ready later.
Paul Glezen, M.D., professor of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, offered a reminder that school children have the highest rate of spreading the seasonal flu virus.
Other good flu practices to remember as back-to-school approaches include:
- Isolating the sick child as soon as possible to prevent spread of germs
- Using antiviral treatment to reduce the chance of spreading the virus
- Emphasizing respiratory etiquette, including washing hands, throwing away tissues and covering the mouth and nose when sneezing
Teachers should also stay alert and send children with a fever to the school nurse.
While parents are preparing on their end, doctors and researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have been preparing for the flu season as well. BCM's Vaccine Treatment and Evaluation Unit is one of several institutions participating this summer in a series of studies that will help determine the best dose of several experimental vaccines designed to protect against the 2009 H1N1 (swine) influenza.
"These trials are important because we are in an influenza pandemic, and we don't have effective vaccines for prevention," said Wendy Keitel, M.D., professor of molecular virology and microbiology at BCM and director of the BCM VTEU, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
See more information on the H1N1 (swine) influenza.
