WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Swine Flu Keeps Vt. Kids Home

Swine Flu Keeps Vt. Kids Home

Shelburne, Vermont - October 20, 2009

"I'm nervous about it. Absolutely," said Sue Leister, the school nurse in Williston.

A lot of school hallways look a little empty this week.

At the Shelburne Community School more than 200 kids are absent. That's more than one-fourth of the school population.

Just down the road at Williston Central School 83 kids are out sick.

"Closing the school is really not an option at this point," Leister said. "That's going to have to be a huge decision in the middle of the year, and that's a last resort."

Williston Central School did close early last year due to swine flu.

The Vermont Education Department is trying to avoid that this time around, urging schools to stay open no matter how many get sick.

Many are prepared to offer classes online.

Much of the emphasis in the classroom is on education-- teaching kids to practice proper hygiene.

"I don't think they're scared. I think it's something to talk about," said one Williston teacher.

Vaccination clinics at some schools are scheduled to begin next week but could be delayed due to a shortage of the vaccine.

Meanwhile others aren't even scheduled to receive it until mid- to late-December.

Some parents have concerns about the safety of the vaccine.

At the Children's School in South Burlington some preschoolers have already received it in the form of a nasal spray.

"It's new. It's kind of been pushed through rather urgently," said Rebecca Stazi, a parent. "However, I don't want to kick myself in the shins nine months from now and wish I would have gotten it."

Students here begin each day by washing their hands.

Parents are also using the social networking site Facebook to discuss flu activity.

"I'm a little worried about it," said Chris Muzzy, a parent. "I think we're being a little more vigilant about hand washing and good practices."

At the college level most students seem to be taking H1N1 lightly. In fact some are even holding swine flu parties. But most university officials are concerned.

UVM has seen three confirmed cases of swine flu and most all colleges are seeing more students than normal with flu-like symptoms. Teachers at UVM are prepared to offer classes online and thermometers have been distributed in the dorms to help students determine whether they have a fever.

Other schools are asking sick students to quarantine themselves to slow the spread of the virus.

Keagan Harsha - WCAX News