CDC: Leave school closings to local officials

By Craig Schneider

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

U.S. health officials said Friday they are discouraging the quick closure of schools where swine flu appears, a shift from recommendations in the spring that prompted many closures and disrupted the lives of many families.

In addition, the federal officials who gathered for a morning media conference in Washington said the decision to close schools should be left to local school and health officials.

“Closure of schools is rarely indicated,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He said local officials must weigh the options of closing a school, which can throw families off their normal routines and hamper education, against the need to stop what may be widespread flu in the school.

The updated school recommendations, which carry great weight with local and state education and health officials, come as some Georgia school systems resumed classes this week. Most of the state’s systems begin the 2009-2010 school year Monday.

While Georgia officials say many schools have put in place a line of defense against swine flu -- planning for increased sanitary education and practices and sending out preventative information to parents -- the officials acknowledge that important aspects of planning awaited these CDC recommendations.

State education and health officials said they agree that the closing of schools should be discouraged and that the decisions should be left to local school officials, with input from local health boards.

“The decision is best left up to the local officials, since they know their kids best,” said Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Education.

The new CDC guidelines say, “The decision to dismiss students should be made locally and should balance the goal of reducing the number of people who become seriously ill or die from influenza with the goal of minimizing social disruption.”

CDC officials say they expect a vaccine to be available for swine flu, also called novel H1N1, by mid-October.