Corner Brook -
Western Health moved its H1N1 immunization clinics into the school setting for the first time Thursday.
Students in Kindergarten to Grade 3, the youngest of the school-aged children, throughout the Western School District either received the vaccines Thursday or will today.
With the exception of children who were part of a mass immunization in some Labrador communities this week, this is the first time children above four years of age, who are not in one of the high-risk priority groups, will receive the H1N1 vaccine.
The schedule for all remaining school children will be announced in the near future, while the schedule for the general public has yet to be determined. In a prepared statement, Western Health said all residents will have access to the H1N1 vaccine. The provincial government, working with the regional health authorities, is monitoring the mass-immunization program as it rolls out and changes may be made to the existing plan. Anybody with questions can call 1-877-632-H1N1 (4161).
While the rate of absenteeism continues to vary in schools throughout the Western School District, Jeff Thompson, the assistant director of education, said that rate is dropping in most schools this week.
However, there are some schools where the number of students off with suspected flu or flu-like symptoms has increased substantially. He said the Bay St. George area has seen increased levels of absenteeism whereas the Corner Brook system is seeing significant improvements, Thompson used as examples.
Administration at the Western School District has come under some fire for not taking measures to close schools during this pandemic, but he said that continues to be the decision, it feels is in the best interest of everybody.
The right approach, he said, is to monitor student and staff attendance daily, while continuing to discuss the matter with other provincial counterparts.
"There's an escalating series of considerations and steps we follow through in deciding whether or not schools stay open or closed," he said. "Right now, we have not gotten to the stage, in any of our schools, of closing.
"There may come a point in time where somewhere in the province, and there has been in parts of the country situations where people in the decision-making positions saw fit to shut down temporarily. We haven't reached that stage yet and, hopefully, we don't ... If the situation arises where we can't adequately staff the school, we will have to make some decisions."
