Although the start of the school year is still more than a month away, one Queens lawmaker is urging the city to step up its efforts and increase preparedness for an H1N1 virus – or swine flu – outbreak, when school resumes.
On Sunday, July 26, City Councilmember Eric Gioia released a five-point plan that includes more nurse services at schools; a coordinated early warning system, public awareness campaign; vaccine disbursement and a school closure policy.
“Swine flu took the world by surprise when it first hit last spring, and many families and communities taken up in its wake didn’t feel they had timely information to keep themselves safe and healthy,” Gioia said. “Now that we know it’s coming, with time to plan and prepare, we can’t let that happen again.”
Gioia announced his plan about a week after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said that 40 percent of Americans could come down with the virus over the next two years. In addition, the CDC warned that the virus could hit city schools in September, which would be earlier than the normal flu season.
“The city has already taken some good first steps, but more can be done,” Gioia said.
The first widespread outbreak of the H1N1 virus occurred at St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows during the end of April. The virus spread to other schools throughout the city, causing more than 50 schools to shut their doors for periods while cleaning crews sanitized the schools. More than half of the schools closures occurred in Queens.
Under Gioia’s proposal, he is asking the city to create and maintain a reserve of nurses who can move to schools that become hot spots for the H1N1 virus. At St. Francis Prep, the school’s nurse was the first person to spot and report the virus to the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).
Meanwhile, another important part of his proposal centers on the closure of city schools – something that was very contentious during the spring outbreak. Gioia said that city should set out the threshold criteria that trigger a school closure and communicate those criteria to school staff and parents.
