As of Wednesday, 4,358 students and 920 adults received flu vaccinations in the Vaccines for Influenza Prevention in Schools campaign, said Dr. Manjusha Gaglani, the local principal investigator of the study and associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Clinic.
With at least one lab-confirmed case of the flu in the area, it’s important that parents take advantage of the program and have their children vaccinated, Gaglani said. The confirmed case was that of a teenager seen at Scott & White’s Belton clinic.
The disease is not widespread, she said, but is showing up sporadically, making it important to get vaccinated before Thanksgiving.
Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said getting the flu vaccine before the holiday travel season is one of the best forms of protection from the flu for individuals and their families, and will go a long way in preventing the spread of the virus.
The response to the local flu vaccination program has improved this year, Gaglani said.
The program offers flu immunizations at no charge to students’ ages 4 and older at schools. Most students will receive FluMist, the nasal spray vaccine, instead of a flu shot in the arm.
“I’ve been very pleased,” Gaglani said of the response to the program. “Belton school district has been awesome and Temple schools are getting on board.”
The administrations of the seven school districts taking part in the study have been very supportive, she said.
This study, “Control of Epidemic Influenza,” has been conducted by a researcher at Scott & White Clinic and Baylor College of Medicine since 1998 and will now be funded one year at a time, Gaglani said.
The study seeks a way to control community outbreaks of influenza. Researchers are now measuring the indirect effect from vaccinating a majority of school-age children in a community to determine if a vaccination program will reduce the spread of the flu.
This year the Center for Disease Control began recommending that all school-age children be immunized for the virus.
Flu or cold
Influenza is not the same illness as a cold. Different viruses cause colds. Influenza attacks the respiratory tract of the nose, throat and lungs and is spread from person to person by coughing, sneezing or talking. Sometimes the flu is spread when a person touches something with flu viruses on it, for example, a doorknob, and then touches their own nose or mouth. A person can spread the flu one day before they feel sick, and up to seven days or longer after they feel sick.
Symptoms of influenza usually come on suddenly, one to four days after the virus enters the body, and may include fever, headache, sore throat, body aches, tiredness, dry cough and nasal congestion, according to Texas Department of State Health Services. Among children, inflammation of the ear, nausea and vomiting are commonly reported with the flu. Most people who get the flu will feel better in one to two weeks, but others will develop more serious complications.
In people with chronic medical conditions such as heart or lung disease, influenza can lead to pneumonia and other life-threatening illnesses.
jgibbs@temple-telegram.com
