The school season begins, and campus influenza prevention and control enters the "exam week". Three experts highlight the key points →

It is the start of another school year, and children are returning to school. At the same time, influenza vaccines are arriving across the country, and the influenza season is coming in the fall. Campuses are densely populated and in frequent contact, making outbreaks more likely to occur, which is the top priority of influenza prevention and control. Facing this war without gunpowder, how can schools do a good job in this battle? Let's hear what three industry experts have to say.

Strong attack, alternating epidemics, protecting campus is the key to influenza prevention and control

Feng Luzhao, Vice Dean of the School of Population Medicine and Public Health, Peking Union Medical College:

Influenza epidemics in my country are seasonal, and there are large differences between provinces and cities due to their different latitudes and geographical locations. There is usually a peak epidemic in the north and south in winter and spring, and it is still prevalent in southern provinces in summer. Affected by the new crown pandemic and prevention and control measures, the southern provinces of my country had a high incidence of influenza last summer. This spring, influenza A (H1N1) has returned strongly, and the intensity of activity is much higher than in the previous four years. There is still great uncertainty in influenza activity this season, and we should do our best to prepare for the epidemic this winter. At the same time, the new coronavirus is still circulating in the human world, increasing the risk of alternating epidemics with respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza, and increasing the difficulty of prevention and control.

▲Trend of influenza virus positive rate in China's influenza surveillance weekly report from 2019 to 2023 (%)

Children are the key population for influenza prevention and control. Their influenza incidence rate is higher than that of adults, and the annual influenza incidence rate among children is about 20% to 30%. As a closed place where people gather, schools are prone to become a hotbed for the rapid spread of influenza viruses. Among the influenza outbreaks reported in my country each year, influenza outbreaks in schools and childcare institutions account for up to 90%. Influenza outbreaks in these places often occur earlier than and intensify community transmission. Therefore, campuses have become a key place for influenza prevention and control.

Wearing a mask as a non-specific preventive measure can effectively reduce the spread of respiratory infectious diseases. As the prevention and control of the new crown enters the normal stage, wearing a mask is no longer required in school. The risk and hidden danger of students contracting influenza are greater, and they need to actively and proactively manage their own protection. At the same time, many places across the country have successively launched this year's influenza vaccination work, and the influenza vaccination work has kicked off. The influenza vaccine is like an "invisible biological mask" that protects students from the attack of the influenza virus at all times. It is recommended that teachers and students get vaccinated early, protect early, reduce the risk of infection and transmission, and build a healthy and safe campus together.

Actively educate, actively organize, and give full play to the functional advantages of the school

Professor Ma Jun from the Institute of Child and Adolescent Health at Peking University:

Schools are prone to infectious diseases. The immune functions of lower grade students are still developing and their resistance to some pathogens is relatively low. At the same time, as closed places with dense crowds, once an epidemic occurs, it will quickly spread throughout the school, causing suspension of classes and disrupting normal teaching order. In severe cases, it may even overflow the campus.

In order to do a good job in campus influenza prevention and control and reduce the spread of influenza on campus, this year the Institute of Child and Adolescent Health of Peking University organized domestic experts at all levels to jointly compile the "Technical Operation Guidelines for Campus Influenza Prevention and Control", which details the implementation methods of daily campus prevention and control.

In addition to influenza monitoring, ventilation, cleaning and disinfection, daily prevention and control on campus also requires attention to influenza prevention and control education. According to the requirements of GB 28932-2012 Management Specifications for the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases in Primary and Secondary Schools, carrying out health education for different groups is an important task for schools and childcare institutions:

1. Carry out health education on infectious disease prevention and control for students and children every semester to improve their awareness of and ability to respond to infectious disease prevention and control.

2. Actively carry out health education for faculty and staff to improve their ability to respond to infectious diseases.

3. Actively communicate with parents, carry out health education before the influenza epidemic season and during the peak period, and inform them to cooperate with the prevention and control of infectious diseases on campus.

When more people become more aware of prevention, not only will the probability of individuals contracting influenza decrease, but the campus environment will also become safer.

▲Target audience and reference form of school health education

Flu vaccination is an effective way for children to prevent influenza. While reducing the disease burden, flu vaccination is of great significance in reducing the risk of influenza outbreaks on campus and shortening the number of days that classes are suspended offline. Some regions have already provided free flu vaccinations to key groups of collective units such as students in schools, and schools also need to actively organize vaccination work accordingly.

Policy support, practice optimization, and multiple aspects promote the upgrading of campus influenza prevention and control capabilities

Director Xie Xu of the Immunization Program of Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention:

For influenza prevention and control, it is not only necessary to form a relatively complete and effective campus epidemic response system, but also requires the coordinated cooperation and joint efforts of the education and health systems. Achieving a relatively high vaccination rate is also key.

Shenzhen established a cluster epidemic monitoring system as early as 2004, and found that influenza ranked first in the number of reports of cluster epidemics. In 2010, the "Shenzhen Student Health Monitoring Information System" was established to monitor students' absences due to illness and disease symptoms. According to the first semester of 2019, influenza/suspected influenza ranked second in students' absences due to illness, and the importance of campus influenza prevention and control is self-evident. In response to influenza monitoring, Shenzhen pioneered the release of a weekly influenza index in 2015 to guide citizens to pay attention to influenza prevention and control in a timely manner.

Since influenza vaccines are not part of the immunization program in my country, most areas of my country require voluntary, self-funded vaccination. The coverage rate of self-funded influenza vaccination among students in Shenzhen is less than 2%, so increasing the influenza vaccination rate among students has become a priority.

The CDC actively learned from experience and, in collaboration with the Education Bureau and schools, promoted a number of campus influenza education initiatives, such as conducting preliminary surveys through the Education Bureau, training school doctors, communicating and writing a "Letter to Parents", and strengthening popular science and publicity.

In addition, Shenzhen implemented a free influenza vaccination program for primary and secondary schools in November 2019, and implemented free vaccination publicity and education and registration appointments through the Health Commission platform. In the same year, the vaccination coverage rate exceeded 50%. In the past three years, the student vaccination rate has exceeded 70%. By improving the accessibility of influenza vaccination, offline classes have been suspended throughout the city, and the phenomenon of student absences and parents' absences and leave has been greatly reduced.

▲The benefits of free influenza vaccination for students in Shenzhen

The unpredictability of influenza and the trend of alternating new crown epidemics have undoubtedly increased the pressure of influenza prevention and control. As the main battlefield for influenza prevention and control, the school has assumed important responsibilities and needs to actively undertake prevention and control education and organize vaccination work. Once the prevention awareness of teachers, students and parents is strengthened, the influenza vaccination rate of students is improved, and the campus group protection barrier is established, it will be able to withstand this "school opening test".