VA:
State begins swine flu vaccination campaign
By Elizabeth Simpson
The Virginian-Pilot
October 15, 2009
RICHMOND
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/state-begins-swine-flu-vaccination-campaign
The state kicked off a media campaign Thursday for the H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine, by giving it to people in priority groups.
The campaign will include public service TV and radio spots, advertising on transit systems, the Internet and at movie theaters. The campaign has the theme “H1N1Get1. It’s up to you to fight the flu.”
State Health Commissioner Karen Remley was among those vaccinated Thursday. The commissioner has asthma, which puts her in a priority group that also includes pregnant women, children 6 months and older, young adults through age 24, people with underlying health problems, parents and caregivers of people with the above-mentioned health conditions and those with children 6 months and younger.
Health care workers and emergency medical service providers also are given priority for the vaccine, and they started receiving the vaccine last week.
Remley received her vaccine at an event at Virginia Commonwealth University’s medical campus, according to a release from the Virginia Department of Health.
A special Web site, www.H1N1Get1.com, also has been set up to provide information about the virus and the places where vaccinations are available throughout Virginia.
Information also is available by calling 1 (877) 275-8343. Not all of the places listed on the Web site have received the swine flu vaccine yet, so people in priority groups should check with the health-care provider first.
VA:
Beach school to close while students recuperate
By Marquita Smith
The Virginian-Pilot
October 14, 2009
VIRGINIA BEACH
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/virginia-beach-school-close-while-students-recuperate
After 80 students stayed home sick on Tuesday, St. Matthew’s School Principal Barbara White decided it was best to close the parochial school for an extra day to give the students a chance to recuperate.
“We have lost the battle... but we are determined to win the war! Due to a high number of ill children, we will be closing school on Thursday,” she wrote in a letter to parents.
Not many of those cases are confirmed as the swine flu, White said Tuesday evening. But sickly students, who had some kind of flu or other illness with a fever, have been encouraged to stay home.
More than 500 students attend the Catholic school, which offers 3-year-old preschool through eigh th grade. The school closed for a similar reason a few years ago when there was an outbreak of the stomach flu.
St. Matthew’s is scheduled to close Friday for a teacher’s meeting. Closing Thursday, too, allows a four-day cleansing period. Custodians will have time to come in and scrub the place down, she said.
In her note to parents, White wrote: “Please have our children rest and recuperate so that we may start fresh on Monday. Thank you for your help and cooperation.”