School preparedness for H1N1 questioned

Posted at: 11/09/2009 9:23 PM | Updated at: 11/10/2009 7:32 AM
By: Jeff Maher, Eyewitness News 4; Matthew Kappus, KOB.com

Norma Quinones and her daughter

After two of her daughters contracted the H1N1 virus, a parent at APS wants to know why more isn’t being done to protect students.

In particular, Norma Quinones wants to see all students vaccinated.

Her 7-year-old daughter got the virus and then a week later, her 13-year-old daughter contracted H1N1 too.

Quinones says she could not get her daughters vaccinated since they are not in a high-risk group.

“They just told us, ‘Treat it like a regular flu virus and keep her hydrated and just watch her over a period of time,’” she said.

Dr. Maggi Gallaher, with the New Mexico Department of Health, says the state simply has not been able to get enough doses to distribute to schools. She says based on their short supply, the state decided to follow CDC recommendations for which groups needed it first.

To date, the state has gotten 186,000 doses—a far cry from the more than half-million that would be needed to vaccinate the state’s students. But Gallaher says the plan is to start distributing vaccines to all schools soon.

“We hope within the next month or two to have enough vaccines to start going that way,” she said. “It's not just public schools either. It will be private schools, charter schools, the BIA schools as well.”

Gallaher says if you do qualify for the vaccine and you haven’t had any luck getting it at your doctor’s office, contact your local public health office.

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