Buffalo, NY:
Area schools make plans to cope with flu-caused closings
By Peter Simon
News Staff Reporter
Updated: October 12, 2009, 11:35 PM
http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/826095.html
If all goes well, the impact of swine flu will be mild, and schools will operate normally.
But school officials can’t count on that.
Instead, they are confronting the possibility that schools will have to be closed or that widespread absenteeism among students and teachers will disrupt instruction.
Contingency plans include offering study packets and course work over the Internet, cutting back on winter and spring break to make up for lost days, expanding opportunities for students to make up for lost class time and seeking assistance from radio, television and newspapers.
“This really is a moving target,” said Williamsville Superintendent Howard S. Smith. “We’re planning for something we don’t know. What we’ve tried to do is be open and proactive.”
New York health care workers file lawsuit over mandatory swine flu vaccines
Posted: Oct 13, 2009 06:36 AM EDT
Reported by: Bethany Tucker
http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?S=11302910
A group of health care workers in New York have filed a lawsuit for being forced to get the swine flu vaccine.
The state says the workers risk losing their jobs if they do not get the vaccine. Many of those who filed the suit question the effectiveness and safety of the shot, and say that getting the vaccine should be their own decision.
“We’re being coerced into consenting to receiving this vaccine,” said Lorna Patterson, one of the health care workers who filed the lawsuit. “It’s a vaccine that we as educated health care professionals don’t believe in.”
To be fair, New York state health officials say the vaccine is safe. They add that the state health commissioner has legal authority to make the vaccine mandatory to workers, in order to protect public health.