Don't rush to close schools for swine flu, CDC says

Don't panic, schools.

The government is urging school officials to stay calm when swine flu strikes this fall, closing buildings only in drastic cases and allowing sick students to return as soon as 24 hours after their fever is gone.

States and schools should also be planning now for the possibility of schoolwide vaccinations beginning in mid-October.

Federal officials know more now about swine flu than they did last spring, when alarm and confusion led hundreds of schools to temporarily shut down. New guidance reflect what the officials have learned.

Closing schools is rarely warranted, even if students or teachers have swine flu, said Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC also changed its advice on how long sick kids should stay home. Students and teachers can return to school or work 24 hours after their fever is gone; the old advice was to stay home for a week.

There are three situations generally that would justify school closure, officials said:

• When swine flu emerges in a school where most or all of the children have special needs, such as a school for pregnant teenagers or for medically frail children.

• When large numbers of kids or staff come down with swine flu.

• When parents send sick, feverish kids to school despite federal and local guidance to keep them home.

Federal officials hope schools will play a major role in providing vaccinations, which public health experts consider to be the strongest defense against infection.

Children are on the priority list for the first doses of swine flu vaccine, but because of the time needed for testing and manufacturing inoculations can't begin until school has been in session for more than a month. The government is aiming for Oct. 15.