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State Offers Free Influenza Vaccine to Children |
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For
the second straight year, the state will offer
influenza vaccine free of charge to all South
Dakota children 6 months through 18 years of
age. Last year, more than 70,000 children in the
state were immunized against the flu, a 307%
increase over the previous year. South Dakota
was the first state to offer free voluntary flu
vaccine to all children.
Children transmit the flu to adults and to other
children and are also at higher risk for
complications. Targeting this population for
vaccination helps reduce the spread of flu,
decreases illness and death from the disease and
decreases school absenteeism.
Because children are congregated in schools
during the flu season, the Departments of Health
and Education encourage schools to support and
promote flu vaccination for their students. In
districts with a school nurse, the nurse could
become a provider and administer the flu vaccine
to students. Districts without a school nurse
can contact a local clinic or community health
nursing office to ask about organizing a vaccine
clinic for students. Schools can also help make
parents aware of the free vaccine and encourage
them to take advantage of this opportunity.
While the vaccine is free, individual providers
may charge an administration fee, which must be
waived if the individual is unable to pay. The
Department of Health will charge no
administration fee for school-based immunization
clinics but the fee will be charged for vaccine
administered in its local offices.
Find
more information about flu prevention and this
initiative at
http://flu.sd.gov
or by calling the Department’s Office of
Community Health Services at 1-800-738-2301.
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Influenza Prevention and Monitoring in School |
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Influenza season is coming soon. Influenza (flu)
strikes South Dakota each winter making
thousands of school children sick. Free
influenza vaccines are available to all children
6 months to 18 years of age. To monitor the flu,
the Department of Health requests your school to
voluntary assistance in tracking influenza. The
request letter and the influenza surveillance
reporting form have been mailed to your school
principal and it can also be found on the web.
The cover letter and instructions for schools
can be found at
http://doh.sd.gov/Flu/PDF/SchoolIillnessInstructions.pdf.
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Holiday Healthy Challenge |
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Want to relieve some stress and avoid gaining
weight during the festive holiday season? Join
the Holiday Healthy Challenge that runs November
15th through January 1st. Challenge participants
will count steps of physical activity. South
Dakotans can participate either on teams or as
individuals. Sign-up begins now so get
your team together. This will make a great staff
wellness activity.
Holiday Healthy Challenge participants will
receive a pedometer to help them count their
steps. Ten randomly selected participants will
receive a prize at the end of the challenge. For
more information and to sign-up, go to
www.HealthySD.gov
and click on the link in the top story.
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Blue Apple Health Education Awards |
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The
American Association for Health Education (AAHE)
and HealthTeacher are announcing a partnership
to bestow national K-12 health education awards.
The Blue Apple Health Education Awards will
recognize up to 12 U.S. schools for their
commitment and creativity in teaching students
about the power of practicing a healthy
lifestyle.
The Blue Apple Health Education Awards are
designed to capture how schools empower teachers
and administrators to teach and promote health
education, utilize best practices in the
classroom and coordinate with other aspects of
school health. Schools receiving the inaugural
Blue Apple Health Education Award will be
honored at an award reception and luncheon
during AAHE’s annual national convention with
the American Alliance for Health, Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) to be
held in Tampa, Fla., in April 2009. Recipients
will receive a host of benefits associated with
the award including:
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Recognition award and flag denoting their
school as a Blue Apple recipient
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AAHPERD/AAHE convention registration and
travel stipend
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Inclusion in national and local public
relations campaign highlighting Blue Apple
recipients
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Free one-year subscription to HealthTeacher,
a comprehensive online health education
curriculum
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Applications for the Blue Apple Awards will
be available beginning October 2008 and must
be received by December 12, 2008.
Award applications and more information about
the Blue Apple Health Education Awards can be
found by visiting
www.blueappleaward.org.
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