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Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 1:47 PM

Flu season impacts area schools

Flu season impacts area schools

Source: Freepik.com

Peak flu season has arrived and is making its way through area schools. While several Oklahoma and North Texas schools were forced to close last week due to a flu outbreak, area schools have been able to remain open. 

According to Whitesboro Independent School District Superintendent Ryan Harper, on a typical day Whitesboro schools have been hovering around 97% attendance. 

Lately, numbers have dropped below 90% with Monday’s attendance sitting at 84%.

In the Collinsville Independent School District (CISD), last week’s attendance rate held at just under 91%, which was slightly down from last semester’s general attendance rate of around 96%. However, the district saw its greatest impact from flu season just before the holiday break in December when, the week of Dec. 13-18, attendance dropped to just under 83%.

“During our board meeting on Jan. 27, 2025, our board of trustees approved a low attendance waiver for our elementary campus from Dec. 13, 2024 to Dec. 18, 2024,” CISD Superintendent Matthew Davenport said. “The low-attendance day waiver allows a district to have school and not be penalized for low attendance.”

S&S Consolidated Independent School District (S&S CISD) has also seen a dip in attendance numbers. 

While the attendance rate for the school year has hovered around 96%, the district is currently sitting at 88%. Currently, S&S High School has been hit the hardest with illness-related absences beginning last Thursday.

“We are having our custodians try to disinfect classrooms and other used spaces in our buildings to try and alleviate the spread of germs as much as possible,” S&S CISD Superintendent Jeff Russell said. “Typically, we do not consider closing school unless there is a consistent absence percentage lower than 85%. We have not seen that low of an attendance percentage, as a district, this school year.”

Harper said in addition to student attendance, availability of staff and substitutes is also a determining factor when considering school closures.

“If [staff attendance and availability] numbers fall drastically, we would then be forced to close due to not having enough staff to effectively monitor and educate our students,” Harper said.

According to the Center for Disease Control, while seasonal flu viruses are detected year-round in the United States, peak flu season typically occurs between December and February. 

One reason for this is cold air cools nasal passages which reduces the efficacy of mucus (our body’s first line of defense against viruses) capturing these germs before they penetrate our bodies.

Another reason is that during cold winter months, people tend to spend more time indoors together in closer proximity. This increases the likelihood of sharing germs and passing viruses to each other.

“Fever, chills with or without a productive cough, achiness, fatigue -- these are all symptoms one might experience with the flu,” TexomaCare Whitesboro family medicine physician Michael Wagoner, DO, said. 

Dr. Wagoner recommends anyone with the flu to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest so the body can fight the illness.

“Keep the immune system up with supplements and multivitamins. Over-the-counter supportive care like decongestants can be helpful,” Wagoner said. “Unfortunately, any viral infection (like the flu) just has to run its course. There’s not really a magic pill you can take.”

While he hasn’t seen many patients with flu symptoms, Dr. Wagoner knows the schools are struggling.

“Our students and teachers are being hit with it pretty hard,” he said. “Anyone in town who’s feeling bad is welcome to make a call to TexomaCare Whitesboro and schedule an appointment. We’ll get them checked out.”


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