St. Bernard School in Montville was missing about one-quarter of its 450 middle and high school students Tuesday as swine flu continued to infiltrate the region.
The Catholic regional school saw its first cases last week, and had higher absentee rates Monday than Tuesday, according to Headmaster William McKenna, giving school officials hope that the outbreak of swine flu, also called H1N1, had peaked. Most, though not all, the absences were due to the swine flu virus, he said.
Each of the public schools in Montville reported several students and staff out with flu-like illness, though none had widespread outbreaks, said Patrick McCormack, director of the Uncas Health District, which serves several area towns. H1N1 activity at other schools in the region appeared to be more scattered, with just a handful or fewer cases thus far.
Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, however, continued to see an influx of patients with flu symptoms at its emergency department. Kelly Anthony, hospital spokesman, said about 10 percent of the 878 patients who came to the emergency department over the last week had the virus.
The majority of flu patients are under 30 years old, he said, and of those, most are children aged 10 or younger. The most common symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, some vomiting and body aches, he added.
As the virus continues to cause illness, demand for the H1N1 vaccine being distributed by the federal government to local health districts has increased. But supplies have been limited.
Sen. Chris Dodd told reporters during a conference call Tuesday that he has written to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius urging stepped-up efforts to overcome production and distribution problems and get the H1N1 vaccine distributed as quickly as possible. His letter also addresses shortages in seasonal flu vaccine supplies, he said.
At the Centers for Disease Control Tuesday, Dr. Thomas Frieden said logjams in production and distribution appeared to be easing, and that "it will get easier to get the vaccine." More than 22 million doses are currently available for shipping, an increase of 8 million doses since last week, he said. The CDC had expected to have about 40 million doses available by this time, however.
"Eventually, there will be enough for everyone who wants the vaccine to get it," he said.
The delays, he said, are due to the 50-year-old production method that uses eggs to grow the virus over six to nine months. The vaccine is produced at private manufacturers and is being distributed by the federal government to the states based on populations. Local health agencies that give the vaccine are required to follow strict protocols and documentation to ensure it is given to groups most susceptible to the virus first. Thus far only the early-tier priority groups -- young children, pregnant women, health care workers and emergency services providers -- have received the vaccine locally.
"We wish we had better technology," Frieden, the CDC director, said. "We wish we could produce vaccine in a matter of weeks. Everyone in this supply chain is working very hard. But clearly the vaccine technology needs to continue to improve."
The CDC said the virus is now widespread in 46 states and has caused 1,000 deaths since it emerged in April. To see more of The Day, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.theday.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Day, New London, Conn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, The Day, New London, Conn.