Higher than normal levels of student absenteeism are still being reported in the Staples Motley schools due to flu symptoms this week, according to school health officials

However, while the Motley Staples Middle School in Motley continues to have over 10 percent of their students out with 'flu like symptoms,' the number of missing students at the high school in Staples has gone down.

Cheryl Mashuga, school district nurse, said Tuesday morning that less than five percent of the students at the high school were absent on Monday, meaning they were below the threshold for reporting the numbers to the state.

"But here at the high school we have more staff members who are sick right now," she added.

In other buildings, however,

it was a different story. "Motley was the hardest

hit all last week, both in the elementary and in the middle school grades there," Mashuga said.

There were 22 Motley Elementary School students missing due to flu like symptoms on Monday, roughly 15 percent of their 144 elementary students. Those who are missing were mostly from the primary grades (K-3), she said.

At the Motley Staples Middle School in Motley, 36 students were missing school on Monday due to flu like illness, she said. That would be slightly over 10 percent of the 278 students in grades 6, 7 and 8.

Figures for Tuesday showed 28 out from the middle school classes and 14 missing from the Motley Elementary classrooms. Mashuga said those included 12 new cases in the middle school and three new elementary. She said all these figures were children sick with flu like symptoms, not including other students missing classes due to other circumstances, such as vacations, doctor appointments, etc.

Staples Elementary has just gone over the 5 percent missing threshold for the first time on Monday with 30 of 376 students missing. Sacred Heart on Monday had five of their 81 students missing due to the flu

Mashuga urges families with children home with

the flu to not send them

back to school too early. "Please keep your child at

home until at least 24 hours after their temperature drops," she said. In addition, the school nurse said, don't send children back to school if they still have any headache, coughing spells or sore throat. "They need to stay home another day or so. At the school we are checking kids temperatures and sending anyone home who still shows those symptoms."

State Department of Health officials announced this week that there will not be any H1N1 vaccination clinics in the month of October.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, vaccinators can order vaccine this week. It may take two weeks or more to get the order. Todd County Public Health will plan to do clinics in November based on how much vaccine is sent and to whom the vaccine is allowed.

Todd County Public Health has been informed that vaccine will be coming in small quantities and will be targeted towards specific focus groups.

Once the focus groups are vaccinated, the general public will be invited for vaccinations. This roll out is reflective of vaccine processing and is not meant to make it unfair or difficult.

As before, Todd County Public Health encourages people to watch the newspapers and listen to the radio for dates and times of clinics. Each school that hosts a clinic will be sending flyers or texts to their student's parents.

Until an adequate supply is available vaccine will only be available to people in high risk groups, such as:

o Pregnant women

o People who live with or care for children younger than six months old.

o Health care and emergency medical services personnel

o People between the ages of six months and 24 years old

o People 25 to 64 years of age who are at higher risk for the 2009 H12N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

Jon Willgohs, Lakewood Health System clinical director, said that when vaccine is available for the general public, there will be announcements.

Willgohs said he has filled out forms for the next shipment of vaccine for high risk people, but as of Tuesday he did not know when the hospital will receive that vaccine. "We have no date set for that at this time," he said, adding he hopes to have it here in October.

Last week an initial shipment of 100 doses of the H1N1 nasal mist vaccine were given to about a third of the hospital's direct care medical staff, Willgohs said. He was not able to obtain more than that amount.

Willgohs said patients

are being seen at the hospital

and clinics, but so far, "We have not hospitalized

any one yet this fall with H1N1."

The clinical director said people have been following health care guidelines very well.

"People (with the flu) have been staying home and not spreading it," he said. 'Until we have the vaccine, that's all we can do, limit the spread by hygiene and staying home."

He advised people to keep washing hands, coughing into their elbow (sleeve) and similar practices. "People are paying attention and doing very good. They just need to keep doing these practices and we just hope these vaccines will start showing up."

At Wadena, the Tri- County Hospital is restricting visitors in the hospital due to the higher incidence of flu-like illness. TCH offi- cials are restricting hospital visitors to immediate family over the age of 12 only.