Warren County Health Department Continues to Urge Residents to get the H1N1 Vaccine: H1N1 Vaccine Clinics open to General Public
-A H1N1 flu vaccine clinic will be held at Warren County Community College on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 from 5 pm -7 pm. The college is located at 475 Rt. 57 West, Washington.
-A H1N1 flu vaccine clinic will also be held at Hackettstown High School on Saturday, February 13, 2010, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The high school is located at 701 Warren St, Hackettstown.
-A H1N1 flue vaccine clinic will be held at North Warren Regional High School, Saturday February 27 , from 12:00 – 2:00 pm located at, 410 Lambert Rd. Blairstown.
The clinics are open to the general public free of charge. Anyone 6 months or older will be eligible to receive the vaccine. This H1N1 flu vaccine is an injectable vaccine. Consent forms are available online at the www.co.warren.nj.us website. No appointment is required.
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HINI Phishing Scheme Information:
The Department was advised this morning through the CDC of a phishing scheme involving the H1N1 vaccine.
In this scheme, fraudulent e-mails are being distributed which indicate that the recipient should register with the CDC to obtain the H1N1 vaccination.
By clicking on the link malicious code is installed on the user's computer.
There is NO such CDC sponsored vaccine registration process.
Some New Jersey county and municipal Health Departments are employing an H1N1 vaccine registration process through their web sites.
Any questions regarding these sites should be directed to sponsoring agency.
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November 30th update from the Department of Education
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TO: Warren County School Superintendents/Administration
The distribution of the H1N1 Vaccine throughout New Jersey has been sporadic. Some Warren County healthcare providers do have a limited quantity of H1N1 vaccine on hand.
Currently Warren County Health Department's (WCHD) supply of H1N1 Vaccine is very limited. When WCHD receives a large shipment of the H1N1 vaccine, public H1N1 flu clinics will be scheduled, announced and conducted. You will receive written notification of the locations and dates of the H1N1 Flu Clinics.
However, WCHD did receive a limited amount of pediatric doses of the H1N1 vaccine. On Thursday November 12th, WCHD will conduct a H1N1 Flu clinic for New Jersey residents, in the target age group of 6 months to 35 months, at Belvidere Manor/Good Will Fire Company # 1, 689 Water Street, Belvidere, NJ 07863. The clinic hours are from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Childcare/Daycare Centers were notified of the upcoming clinic, as well as, the media.
The WCHD Epidemiologist monitors Influenza-like activity on a daily basis and receives weekly influenza reports from the school nurses. Monitoring daily influenza-like activity, would not be possible without the school nurses timely and diligent reporting of cases. WCHD staff and the school nurses maintain an exceptional working relationship. Recently WCHD staff attended a Warren County School Nurse Association Meeting to provide updates.
WCHD will periodically update you on the status of the H1N1 vaccine and cases. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact
WCHD at 908-475-7960.
Your cooperation and support is greatly appreciated.
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Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy has announced the posting of the Department of Education's new Web page related to H1N1 influenza planning and preparedness.
Please visit the following link for the full announcement:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2009/1016h1n1.htm
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September 4, 2009
Beginning with the spring outbreak of H1N1 flu, school districts in Warren County and the Warren County Health Department have been working very closely. We relied heavily on the Health Department’s expertise and guidance in the spring, and we will continue to do so during this school year.
Attached you will find a letter from Mr. Claude Mitchell, outlining current information regarding both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu. Just as this guidance has changed from the spring outbreak, be prepared for it to evolve as the flu season begins later this fall.
We will continue to keep families up-to-date with important information as it becomes available to us. We ask for your cooperation in following the recommendations, particularly regarding keeping students who are ill at home. We will do our best to educate our students on staying healthy and will continue to clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces throughout the school day.
We appreciate your help in keeping our school community healthy and thriving.
Laura Mazzei, School Nurse
Linda Heilman, Chief School Administrator
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Dear Parent/Guardian,
The Warren County Health Department (WCHD) has been working closely with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor flu conditions. We will continue to work closely with these agencies throughout the school year and we will update you with new information as soon as it is available.
WCHD receives guidance and recommendations for schools from the NJDHSS and CDC. This guidance will be shared with all school districts in the county. By following these public health recommendations, we can minimize the risk of spreading seasonal influenza (flu) and H1N1 influenza.
The current CDC influenza guidance is based on the knowledge and experience obtained from the 2009 Spring H1N1 Outbreak. CDC guidance recommends keeping schools open because school closures were not an effective means of reducing the spread of the H1N1 flu in the spring of 2009. The CDC, NJDHSS, and Warren County Health Officials will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with the Warren County School Officials to update current guidance.
The current guidance states as follows:
· Students and staff with influenza (flu) –like symptoms should not attend school.
§ fever
§ cough
§ sore throat
§ runny or stuffy nose
§ body aches/ headaches
§ chills and fatigue
§ vomiting or have diarrhea.
· Students and staff with influenza (flu-) like illness should remain home at least 24 hours after fever has ended without the use of fever-reducing medications (i.e. Tylenol, Motrin, Advil, and Aspirin).
· Parents/staff should report any flu like symptoms when reporting absence to school.
There are effective methods of prevention which help minimize the spread of the flu. The CDC recommends the following:
· Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. You can set a good example by doing this yourself.
· Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils.
· Teach your children to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, or sleeve instead of the hand when a tissue is unavailable.
· Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, chills, and fatigue. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.
· Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or do no have signs of fever, without the use of fever-reducing drugs (i.e. Tylenol, Motrin, Advil, and Aspirin). Keeping children with a fever home will reduce the number of people who may get infected.
· Do not send children to school if they are sick.
This year the CDC recommends that children 6 months to18 years of age get vaccinated annually for seasonal flu. Parents are reminded that students in pre-school up to age 5 are required to have the seasonal flu shot. It is important to note that the seasonal flu vaccine will offer protection from the seasonal flu but not the H1N1 flu. The CDC is also recommending that children be vaccinated for H1N1 flu. Pending approval by the federal government, we expect an H1N1 vaccine sometime in late October or early November. This vaccine will be voluntary. Once the CDC releases more vaccine information, updates will follow. For more information about the H1N1 vaccine please visit the www.cdc.gov/h1n1
The most current influenza information is available at the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services www.nj.gov/health/er/h1n1/ website, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/parents .
We appreciate your cooperation as we continue to work together. Please contact the Warren County Health Department at 908-475-7960 if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Claude W. Mitchell, MPH