WASHINGTON - Chris Edwards' fever spiked at 104 degrees in autumn, before he was sent home from Frostburg State University in western Maryland to recover from H1N1 flu.
"It scared most of my family more than it scared me," said freshman information technology major told in a telephone interview Thursday. "For me it was plain sick."
He is one of many students at American universities, which tested positive for H1N1 - also known as swine flu - in recent months. To help reduce the spread of the disease, began U.S. Department of Education to encourage students to be vaccinated.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said officials want to see inoculated students before they head home for Christmas holidays. And if the exam schedules make it impossible, students should try to get the vaccine while they are at home, "he says.
As another tactic to limit the spread of H1N1, "says Duncan, his department is called upon college teachers to be flexible with students who become ill, so they are not afraid to miss classes.
"If you're sick, it is highly contagious, and we need you home is well before you return to class," Duncan told a group of college newspaper reporters.
Edwards can attest to how difficult it can be. After missing a week at school, he said, "It took me a long time to catch up."
Department of Education says his ultimate control of elementary and secondary schools found none were closed due to H1N1 virus. There is a big change from a peak in late October with more than 450 schools closed, where more than 350,000 students across the U.S..
But officials warn it is too early to relax.
"Although flu is going down, it is far from gone," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Thomas Frieden Monday, points out that flu season lasts until May
"Only time will tell what the rest of the season will bring," he says. "There are still many children who are sick, and many people who are at risk of getting influenza, and the end (ing) to get seriously ill from it."
GM Hot News
