News Around the District

Lowell was broken into last night. From the PI:

"A burglar hit Lowell Elementary School early Thursday morning in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Police arrived just after midnight after a burglar alarm went off. A male suspect was seen running away into a neighborhood. A search by officers and a police dog couldn't find him.

A police dog and SWAT team were used to make sure no more suspects were in the school in the 1000 block of East Mercer Street."

Nothing on the district website.

Also from the PI about the SPS and the swine flu, there was an article today. Unfortunately, the only thing it really said about SPS was :

"Seattle Public Schools are stocking up on surgical masks, revamping their health curriculum, and preparing for a flu pandemic."

I'm hoping the district will send home in the first day packets next week a sheet on what parents should do and what the district will do. I wonder if teachers will add hand sanitizer to the list of things to bring to class. Whether or not you believe how bad this could get, I would think the district would want to make sure that parents are aware of what the district is doing and what it wants parents to do. I know in NYC they are going to be vaccinating their 1M+ students (public and private) free of charge with a nasal vaccine.

(Side note; Whittier Elementary has PTA minutes going back to 1917. The minutes reflect the flu pandemic back then and notes that many children did not finish the year. It doesn't indicate if they died or just didn't get enough schooling that year to move to the next grade. Most of the people who have died from swine flu have been young.)

Here is what the CDC says:

"CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended that certain groups of the population receive the 2009 H1N1 vaccine when it first becomes available. These target groups include pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old, and people ages of 25 through 64 years of age who are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

We do not expect that there will be a shortage of 2009 H1N1 vaccine, but availability and demand can be unpredictable. There is some possibility that initially the vaccine will be available in limited quantities. In this setting, the committee recommended that the following groups receive the vaccine before others: pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, health care and emergency medical services personnel with direct patient contact, children 6 months through 4 years of age, and children 5 through 18 years of age who have chronic medical conditions.

The committee recognized the need to assess supply and demand issues at the local level. The committee further recommended that once the demand for vaccine for these target groups has been met at the local level, programs and providers should begin vaccinating everyone from ages 25 through 64 years. Current studies indicate the risk for infection among persons age 65 or older is less than the risk for younger age groups. Therefore, as vaccine supply and demand for vaccine among younger age groups is being met, programs and providers should offer vaccination to people over the age of 65."

On a positive note, the School Board meeting was shorter than usual last night.