Flu Immunization Information for Schools and Child Care Providers
Children in schools and child care settings are at risk for getting and spreading the flu, as they have close contact with one another during the day. Teachers and school staff should recognize the signs and symptoms of the flu and take precautions to prevent the spread of flu in schools. Learn more about the flu.
What you should do
- Promote school-based flu vaccination clinics to parents and students. These clinics take place October through December.
- Monitor students and staff for influenza-like illness, defined as a fever plus a cough or sore throat.
- Send students and staff with influenza-like illness home until they are fever-free (temperature less than 100.4° F) for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications. Encourage parents to keep children home when they are sick to prevent the spread of illness.
- Instruct students or staff whose symptoms worsen to seek medical care.
- Teach flu prevention measures to students and staff. Use age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate teaching tools and materials.
- Routinely clean commonly touched surfaces with household disinfectants.
- Encourage students to wash their hands often throughout the day with warm water and soap. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand gel.
- At the earliest sign of illness, instruct healthy household members to stay home, minimize contact with the community as much as possible, and assign a single household member as the sick person's caregiver.
- Promote yearly seasonal flu vaccination for all children age 6 months or older.