Youngest students at the head of the line for flu vaccine
Strategy targets those most at risk of H1N1

By Yamiche Alcindor
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 29, 2009

Health officials in Arlington County and the city of Alexandria are eagerly awaiting the arrival of swine flu vaccine.

Public schools in both jurisdictions plan to vaccinate children whose parents have consented. As the number of people with flulike symptoms continues to rise in both areas, however, officials say the amount of vaccine needed is far from what's available.

Because of the limited amount of swine flu, or H1N1, vaccine available, Alexandria and Arlington officials have developed a similar strategy: inoculate the youngest children first. The strategy targets the most at-risk population in the hopes of protecting the youngest students from the fast-spreading disease. In both jurisdictions, kindergartners and first-graders will be the first to receive the vaccine.

In Alexandria, public school children began receiving the vaccine last week. In Arlington, officials said, they hoped to have begun vaccinating children this week.

Arlington hosted a public forum last week aimed at educating parents about the virus and the vaccine. About 50 parents attended the two-hour meeting led by the county's health director, Reuben Varghese, at Washington-Lee High School. Varghese encouraged parents to have their children vaccinated but said they must weigh their options.

Juli Potter attended the forum with her 9-year-old daughter, Ellie Verburg. "I'm not sure if we as parents are knowledgeable about getting our children vaccinated," Potter said. She said she was unsure about getting her daughter vaccinated and wanted more information. "Is it truly an epidemic, or is it fear? And how can they turn this stuff around so quickly?" she asked.

By the end of the forum, Potter said she wasn't convinced about the vaccine's effectiveness. "I'm leaning toward no because I think this is a rush job by the CDC," she said of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Allison Walker had a different perspective. She consented to have her 10th-grader and her 7th-grader vaccinated. "The risk factors were enough to convince me to get them vaccinated," Walker said. "It seemed like the school year started, and there were more and more reports of kids getting infected."

The number of Arlington residents infected with the H1N1 virus is unknown, health officials said. In order to track cases, parents are being encouraged to call school when their children are absent with information about their child's status, Amy Carlini, an Arlington public schools spokesman said. Students who have been ill should return to school only after being fever- and medicine-free for 24 hours, she said.

Alexandria is not tracking its number of swine flu cases, said Lisa Kaplowitz, director of the city's Health Department. Northern Virginia has had an increase, however, in the number of people with flu-like symptoms, she said.

In Arlington, students will receive vaccines in either a shot or nasal spray form, depending on availability, unless personal circumstances rule out one method, Varghese said. Alexandria students will be vaccinated using only the shot because a large number of students have asthma, which can cause complications, Carlini said.

Alexandria and Arlington health officials said they will also work with private schools to ensure that parents of students there are given the option of having their children vaccinated. Private school students who are to be vaccinated will also be given priority based on age.

Carlini said parents should not worry about sending their healthy children to school. "I don't think schools are unsafe even if there are a lot of kids out sick," she said.