Barrington 220 officials working to get H1N1 shots for students

Barrington Area Unit District 220 students will get a chance for H1N1 flu shots, but officials don't know when.

The District 220 school board approved a contract Tuesday with Georgia-based Flu Busters to bring the H1N1 vaccine to students. The company will work with the Lake County Department of Public Health to obtain the vaccine, and then help set up a clinic with the needed equipment to distribute it to the schools.

The company has been unable to tell the district when the vaccine will arrive, as supplies have been limited. H1N1, or the swine flu, has become a big topic of discussion for students, Barrington High School student board representative Nirali Chauhan told the board Tuesday.

Officials said don't expect big lines. Flu Busters would set up appointments online. The clinic will happen after school and on the weekends, not during the school day, as was the case in Palatine Township Elementary District 15.

"Parents can bring their children and give their consent right there," District 220 Nursing Supervisor Eva Detloff said.

Officials aren't sure how much of the vaccine they'll get, or what will happen to any if it goes unused.

Detloff stressed the community should focus on prevention: covering coughs, washing hands and curtailing social interaction if infected by staying home from work or school until you're fever-free for 24 hours without the aid of a fever-reducing medicine.

Parents have been helpful to District 220 officials by leaving information on the schools' illness-absence lines.

"It really does help us monitor the spread of influenza illness at our schools," Detloff said.

The district is tracking the number of flu-related absences on its Web site, barrington220.org/illness.asp.

District 220 schools are in three counties and draw students from four. Detloff said the district has worked well with the departments of public health from those counties, including Cook County.