A flu clinic that had been scheduled for Oct. 15 for Mountain Avenue Elementary students and parents has been cancelled due to a depleted supply of the vaccine.

“There was a shortage of vaccine. There seems to be very little coming into the area,” said Lynda Burlison, Glendale school district health services coordinator.

The clinic was sponsored by the school’s PTA and has not been rescheduled because the supplier, Flintridge Pharmacy, has not received its requested amount of vaccine.

“Presently we are in negotiation with our supplier [for more vaccine]. We have only received about 16% of what we requested for this year and they are talking about not sending any more,” said Larry Rivera, sales manager at Flintridge Pharmacy.

Rivera said he has contacted other pharmacies and doctors in the area and has received the same response: they are out. The vaccine that has been shorted is for the seasonal flu; the H1N1 virus vaccine has yet to be released, Rivera said.

“And when that is released we don’t know if we are going to get any [of it]. We have heard that the H1N1 vaccine will first be released to hospitals and county facilities,” he added.

Burlison said she was at a meeting on Friday [Oct.9] and was told the vaccines would be available shortly but did not have an exact date.

In the meantime, Rivera continues to hunt for more vaccine and information on when private companies, like his pharmacy, will be able to get their supplies.

Mountain Avenue will reschedule once those supplies are received.

Three students at Rosemont Middle School and one student at Crescenta Valley High School have been confirmed with the type A influenza, H1N1 virus.

Dr. Richard Sheehan, Glendale district assistant superintendent, has become somewhat of an expert on the subject of the subject of the H1N1 flu. He said he had been told by public health officials that testing for the H1N1 flu strain is rare.

“Right now, what I have been told is they are testing for Type A [influenza]. The H1N1 test is much more involved and [the results] take a long time,” he said.

Since traditional flu season begins a few months from now, anyone with flu-like symptoms at this point probably has the H1N1 influenza, said Ken August, spokesman for the California Department of Public Health.

“I talked to the [student’s] mother and found out that the symptoms were coughing and a fever,” said CVHS Principal Linda Evans.

Evans went a step further and contacted the student’s pediatrician, with her parents’ permission.

“The pediatrician’s office confirmed that she had tested for Type A influenza,” Evans said.

Sheehan has taken the lead at the district in preparing for a predicted outbreak. All schools now have hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes for the keyboards in the schools’ computer labs.

“We have sent out notices, we will use our ConnectEd phone system and have sent out e-mail notices to parents,” said CVHS Principal Linda Evans.

Rosemont Principal Michele Doll said the school’s PTA is going to be updating its website with prevention information concerning H1N1 and advised parents to visit the district website.

The H1N1 vaccine is scheduled to be available in October. August said that children to young adults up to 24 years old should get the vaccine.  Sheehan advises that all parents check with their personal doctor concerning the vaccination.

By Mary O’Keefe

La Cañada Unified School District has confirmed two cases of the H1N1 virus at La Cañada Elementary School.

On Sept. 11, 13 out of 20 students in one first grade classroom had reported out of school due to flu-like symptoms. Most of those students were determined to have the Type A influenza, seasonal flu. The school notified the County of Los Angeles Public Health department who requested five of those 13 students be tested for the H1N1 virus. Two of them came back as positive, said Wendy Sinnette, assistant superintendent for Human Resources, La Cañada Unified School District.

“That is a unique situation. We have not seen those types of [group] absences in our [Glendale] classrooms,” said Dr. Robert Sheehan, assistant superintendent for Glendale Unified School District.

Sheehan added teachers have been educated on the symptoms and the best procedures to prevent the spread of influenza.

“We are posting information for parents about H1N1 on the District website on Monday and will be sending out letters [about the virus] in the Thursday folders,” he said.

The La Cañada district responded quickly once they had confirmed the two cases.

“We found out about this late Friday and since then have taken every precaution to sanitize every classroom,” she said.

The district implemented their Connect Ed communication technology to update parents on the situation.

“The [outbreak] was contained within one classroom,” Sinnette added.

The school continued to screen all students who reported out sick on Monday but all were fever free, they just felt unwell.

The health department credited the La Cañada district with containing the outbreak through their precautions prior to the students reporting sick and the follow up actions of the staff, Sinnette said.

Precautions are key in the battle within the Glendale district as well.

“All indications show that it will be a heavy flu season,” Sheehan said.

The Glendale district has ordered hand sanitizers for every classroom and anti-bacterial wipes for keyboards in the computer labs, Sheehan said.

For more information on the H1N1 virus visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov