Published Friday, June 8, 2001, in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Shots dispensed today

Pupils and staff will go to school for vaccinations

BY ANDALE GROSS

Beacon Journal staff writer

LEXINGTON TWP.: School officials transformed Marlington High School’s gymnasium into a mini-clinic yesterday in preparation for today’s mass vaccination of students and staff members.

Marking the vaccination check-in entrance are several signs. Some outline the symptoms of meningococcal disease. Others remind students under 18 that they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian when receiving their shots.

“Not In Service” signs are taped to water fountains, pay telephones and soda machines.

School chiefs emphasized that the notices were not posted for health reasons. Those running the clinic do not want teen-agers congregating; they want the youths to flow through the process as quickly as possible.

“We want to keep the lines moving,” said Dan Buckel, public relations director for the Marlington district.

Still, the health outbreak concerns were apparent: School custodians were called in to clean the building with disinfectant.

About 1,500 students and staff members from Marlington and St. Thomas Aquinas high schools in Stark County are on the list to be vaccinated at Marlington High. Three other high schools also are serving as vaccination sites: Alliance in Stark, West Branch in Mahoning County and Salem in Columbiana County.

An estimated 5,800 people from six high schools will receive vaccines. The Ohio Department of Health is paying for the effort, which will cost at least $300,000, department spokesman Randy Hertzer said yesterday.

Two 15-year-old West Branch students died in late May from the same type of meningococcal bacterium that made 18-year-old Marlington senior Christin VanCamp seriously ill.

VanCamp remains at Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Akron, where doctors upgraded her condition to stable yesterday. A hospital representative said she has been moved out of the intensive care unit to a general floor.

State health officials said Tuesday there would be a mass vaccination to help prevent others from contracting the rare but deadly illness.

A “Northeast Ohio meningitis response team” has been formed to help coordinate the vaccination effort. It consists of the Stark County Health Department, Columbiana County General Health District, Mahoning County District Board of Health, Alliance City Health Department and Ohio Department of Health.

“This setup is what was recommended,” Buckel said to a throng of reporters yesterday at Marlington High. “In order to keep the students moving fairly and equally, we will have a number system.”

Students are to use the south gymnasium entrance at Marlington, where there will be designated check-in tables for Marlington and Aquinas kids.

Those under 18 are asked to arrive with their parents, who may then give consent for shots. Students who are 18 will receive forms to fill out themselves.

Each person to receive a vaccination will receive a health history sheet to complete and a number. When students’ and staff members’ numbers are called, they will be led to the gymnasium and taken to the vaccination areas, which will be surrounded by gray borders for privacy.

“We’re hopeful there will be as little confusion as possible,” Buckel said.

One small area with cots will serve as a first-aid station in case someone reacts negatively to the vaccination, officials said.

“We have a lot of parents who are concerned about reactions to the vaccinations,” Buckel said.

Some students may not get the shot for religious reasons, he said.

That decision will be left to their parents.

Nurses will be on hand to answer questions and give assistance in other ways, he said.

“There’s a natural anxiety,” Buckel said. “It is very frightening. It’s a very emotional issue. . . . We want to take as much emotion out of it as we can.”

Clinic coordinators are concerned that people who are not on any of the lists may arrive expecting to receive vaccinations. They will be referred to health officials in charge.

Students who miss the clinics today may attend a makeup clinic on a day to be scheduled, Buckel said.

Also yesterday:

Marlington administrators said graduation ceremonies will be held at 7 p.m. June 19 in the auditorium. The district’s summer school will begin as scheduled Monday morning.

The Ohio Department of Health said at least 24 members of District 3 of the Ohio Nurses Association—including many striking nurses from Youngstown—will be among the volunteers administering vaccines today. District 3 includes nurses from Columbiana, Trumbull and Mahoning counties.

Many of the volunteers are registered nurses striking Youngstown’s Forum Health hospital system, said Jeannie Mulichak, first vice president of the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association, the unit of the ONA that represents Forum Health nurses.

The state asked the nurses to administer shots from 2 to 6 p.m. at West Branch.

“We do community outreach all the time—any time we’re asked,” Mulichak said.

The state said the hot line established to address community concerns -- 1-866-782-7526 -- will continue around the clock as long as the calls keep coming. By yesterday afternoon, more than 2,500 calls had been received.

“To a large extent, the hot line has been a terrific tool to answer the community’s concerns,” said Jay Carey, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health.

Health officials said it is not surprising to see sporadic, unrelated cases of possible meningococcal disease during a confirmed outbreak. “With about 150 cases a year in the state, it’s very possible we can get an unrelated, isolated type of case during this outbreak,” Hertzer said. “In fact, I think we would be pretty surprised if we didn’t get one.”

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.