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Schools Gear Up for the Flu

Vickie An

U.S. health officials plan to start a major H1N1 flu vaccination campaign this fall. Schoolkids will be among the first to get the flu shots.

Reading and math lessons may not be the only things students will get this fall. Hundreds of school districts nationwide are also planning to offer students swine flu vaccines.

The in-school flu-shot clinics will be part of a larger effort by the government to guard against a new outbreak of swine flu, which is also known as the H1N1 virus. Children top the government's list of people to be inoculated first.

The first case of H1N1 was reported last March in Mexico. Since then, more than 160,000 people worldwide have caught the bug, according to the World Health Organization. But experts say H1N1 is no stronger than seasonal flu. Most people recover without needing medical care.

Battling the Bug

Vaccines contain tiny amounts of the germs that can make you sick. Your body's immune system learns to make cells that attack the germ. The H1N1 vaccine will not be ready until mid-October.

Still, experts say the best way to keep germs away is to wash your hands (see "Flu Fighters"). Schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have put sturdy soap dispensers in every restroom. They plan to keep them filled. "It sounds so simple, but it works," says Craig Vana, a district official.

Next: Flu Fighters