Recent ActivitySchool health services are designed to meet the goals and priorities of education as well as health. The program becomes clearly evident when the focus remains on the needs of children and youth, and on our mutual goal of a healthy child who is prepared to maximize his/her opportunity to learn and grow in preparation for a healthy and productive life. Health is the key to the basics of education and should be part of the continuum of school services available to every student.
Health Services are largely the responsibility of the school nurse working collaboratively with others within the school community and as a liaison to establish and nurture networks and linkages with the health and social systems as well as the private sector of the community at large. School Health Programs are most productive when collaborative efforts are preventive in their focus and epidemiological in their approach.
The health problems of school children today include not only problems related to physical defects, disease and injury, but also those related to behavioral, emotional, and developmental lags. The range of services needed extends beyond the simple identification and control of contagious disease. School nurses today have responsibility not only for disease prevention and health protection, but also for initiating activities that promote positive health behaviors relevant to the child's developmental stage, educational level and ability to accept and assume self care and self control.
Nurse Checka's Announcements Grade 9 Scoliosis ScreeningScoliosis screening of all grade 9 students will occur in May. Specific dates will be announced after spring recess.
2010-2011 Flu Season InformationQuestions & AnswersVaccine Selection for the 2010–2011 Influenza SeasonHow are the viruses selected to make flu vaccine?The viruses used in making seasonal flu vaccines are chosen each year based on information collected over the previous year about which influenza viruses are spreading and what vaccine viruses would offer the best protection against circulating viruses. Viruses gathered by 130 national influenza centers in 101 countries as well as information on disease trends are further analyzed by the four World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centers for Reference and Research on Influenza located in Atlanta, USA (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC) ; London, United Kingdom (National Institute for Medical Research); Melbourne, Australia (Victoria Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory); Tokyo, Japan (National Institute for Infectious Diseases). The seasonal flu vaccine is usually a trivalent vaccine (a three component vaccine) with each component selected to protect against one of the three groups of influenza viruses circulating most commonly in humans. (The 2009 H1N1 vaccine that was made to protect against the pandemic virus first detected in April was a monovalent (one-component) vaccine that only protected against the 2009 H1N1 viruses.) The three vaccine viruses are chosen to maximize the likelihood that the main circulating viruses during the upcoming flu season will be well covered by the vaccine. WHO recommends specific vaccine viruses for vaccine production, but then each individual country makes their own decision for licensing of vaccines in their country. In the United States, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determines what viruses will be used in U.S.–licensed vaccines. What flu viruses are included in the seasonal vaccine for 2010-2011?WHO recommended that the Northern Hemisphere's 2010–2011 seasonal influenza vaccine contain the following three vaccine viruses: The H1N1 virus recommended for inclusion in the 2010-2011 seasonal influenza vaccine is a pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus and is the same vaccine virus as was used in the 2009 H1N1 monovalent vaccine. This recommended composition of the seasonal vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere, including the United States, is the same composition that was recommended for the Southern Hemisphere’s 2010 influenza vaccines. Who is included in the group that makes the vaccine virus selections at WHO?The WHO vaccine virus decision meetings include WHO representatives from the WHO Collaborating Centers, Essential Regulatory Labs, and others from the Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN). After WHO makes its recommendations, the US FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meets to concur with or modify WHO's recommendation for the United States. When and where did the WHO group meet to determine the vaccine composition for the 2010-2011 seasonal influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere?On January 14 and February 4, 2010, the WHO selection process for which viruses to include in the seasonal influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere began with teleconferences discussing surveillance data. The final WHO Vaccine Composition Meeting When and where was it decided what the vaccine composition would be for the 2010-2011 seasonal vaccine for the United States?After WHO made its recommendations for the Northern Hemisphere, the US FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) |
