Published: November 02, 2009 07:38 pm      

Health officials: H1N1 concerns persist in Mercer

PRINCETON — Absentee rates in Mercer County Schools are steadily declining, but the overall number of illnesses with flu-like symptoms continues to increase countywide, school and health department officials said Monday.

“We saw an overall increase last week in flu-like symptoms,” said Administrator Melody Rickman, RN, of the Mercer County Health Department. “It has gone from 700 last week to about 1,000 this week, an increase of 300.”

The health department is continuing to offer H1N1 (swine flu) vaccinations at its building in Green Valley. A shipment is expected today, Rickman said.

Vaccinations are offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday except for federal and state holidays. The health department will be closed for Veterans Day on Nov. 11, Rickman said.

At risk groups receiving the shots include people ages 6 months to 24-years-old; pregnant women; people with diabetes; people with heart conditions; and people with breathing problems. The H1N1 vaccine is not being given to people ages 65-years-old or older, Rickman said.

The number of Mercer County students absent from school has started to drop, said Rick Ball, coordinator of student services. On Monday, schools reported a total of 765 students absent.

“This is the lowest number we’ve had since Oct. 8,” Ball said. “The peak was Friday, Oct. 23, with 1,612 students out, and it has dropped daily pretty much ever since.”

However, it was not known exactly how many students were absent due to the flu. Absentee rates started increasing Sept. 28.

“And weekly since then, not only has the county number of absentees increased, but we also had individual schools’ numbers go up,” Ball said. “Numbers would spike up a week, a week and a half and sometimes two weeks, and then we would start to see the trend back downward.”

One school, Oakvale School, had 48 absences Oct. 27, and 47 absences Monday.

“They’re at that peak right now,” he said.

When parents see increasing numbers of absences at their children’s school, they tend to keep their children at home, Ball said.