Letter to parents
Dear Parents:
The Springfield School District, in cooperation with Jordan Valley Community Health Center, and the Springfield-Greene County Health Department is offering Seasonal Flu Vaccine to any child free of charge, as supply allows. Your child will receive the Inhaled Nasal (FluMist) Influenza Vaccine unless contraindicated, in which case your child will receive the Inactivated Influenza (Flu Shot) Vaccine. The Flu Clinics will be held at your child’s school during the months of November and December.
The following conditions would prevent your child from receiving flu vaccine: allergy to vaccine components, and moderate or severe illnesses. Additionally, Inhaled Nasal Influenza Vaccine (FluMist) should not be given to children and adolescents with asthma or receiving aspirin therapy or aspirin-containing therapy. Enclosed you will find Vaccine Information Statements for both the Inactivated Influenza Vaccine (Flu Shot) and for the Inhaled Nasal Influenza Vaccine (FluMist). We encourage parents to review this information and for those with children who have significant health risks to arrange their immunizations with their primary care provider.
If you are interested in your child receiving the Inactivated Influenza Vaccine (Flu Shot) or the Inhaled Nasal Influenza Vaccine (FluMist), please complete and sign the Consent Form and return to your school nurse before your school's vaccination date.
The clinics will be held as supply allows. If you have additional questions about the program, please call your school nurse.
- Inactivated influenza vaccination information
- Live, intranasal influenza vaccination information
- Seasonal influenza vaccine consent form
- 2010 Flu clinic schedule
School nurses promote prevention to deter flu
Springfield Public Schools carefully monitors students for any flu-like symptoms and educates students and staff about preventive measures.
“Prevention is always the best course of action in a situation like this,” explained Jean Grabeel, coordinator of student health services. “Our school nurses regularly review good hand-washing techniques with both students and staff and promote preventive practices.”
School nurses also monitor for signs and symptoms of illness including:
- Fever greater than 100 degrees F or 37.8 degrees C;
- Body aches, chills, headache, fatigue;
- Stuffy nose, cough, sore throat; and
- Possible nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
To help prevent the spread of disease, the Health Department encourages individuals to practice proven disease-prevention methods such as effective hand washing, keeping a distance of at least six feet from someone who is ill, using respiratory etiquette and avoiding touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
People who have a flu-like illness should stay home to protect others from contracting it.
Help Fight the Flu
You play an important role in how the flu affects our community and can help us slow the spread of a flu virus in our community. Rather than waiting for flu season to begin this fall, we recommend you start now planning to protect your family and our community as we “Fight the Flu” together.
- Protect your family
- get your family vaccinated against seasonal flu,
- establish healthy practices of hand washing and not sharing personal items,
- stockpile food and medication in case you need to voluntarily isolate or quarantine yourself and your family,
- make arrangements for child care if schools close, and
- talk to your employer about flexible work schedules.
- Protect yourself
- get a seasonal flu shot,
- wash your hands,
- keep a distance of at least 6 feet from people who are sick, and
- choose a healthy lifestyle to build your immune system, including
- get adequate sleep,
- reduce stress,
- stop smoking and using tobacco products,
- stay physically active,
- choose nutritious foods, and
- drink plenty of water.
- Protect our community
- stay home if you are sick,
- keep kids home when they have a fever (for at least 24 hours after their fever goes away without the use of medications),
- cover your cough,
- wash your hands, and
- don’t share personal items.
Dismissing school
A decision to dismiss students from school will be made in consultation with the Springfield-Greene County Health Department and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services based upon local conditions. Factors influencing the decision include:
- the number and severity of cases in an outbreak (looking at national, regional, and local data),
- the risks of flu spread and benefits of dismissal,
- the problems that school dismissal can cause for families and the community.
These will dictate which type of dismissal will be employed: Selective (when all or most students in school are at higher risk for complications once infected with flu); Reactive (many students and staff are sick and are not attending school or being sent home for illness), or Preemptive (used early during flu response to decrease the spread of flu before many students and staff get ill and based on number of cases of severe flu within the region).
Informational resources
The following documents share tips to prevent spread of the flu:
- Flu information for parents
- Tips for Teachers - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggestions for helping prevent the spread of flu.
- Fight the Flu!- Explanations of different types of the flu, comparison of cold vs. flu symptoms, and a checklist of how to protect yourself against the flu.
- Fight the Flu! - List of ways to protect yourself from the flu.
- Cover your Cough, Clean your Hands- Informational poster
- No hotheads in our school - Informational poster
Helpful Web sites
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Springfield-Greene County Health Department