Several apparent cases of H1N1 flu prompted the Mountain View Whisman School District to close an autism program at Slater School for the latter half of the week, officials announced Wednesday.

"Because we've had a number of flu-like illnesses which may or may not be H1N1, in the staff and the students, we are going to close (the program) for Thursday and Friday," said Kathi Lilga, executive assistant to the superintendent.

On Wednesday, Lilga said, three students and at least five staff members were out with flu-like symptoms. She said that although the county health department didn't recommend closure, "we are deciding to be proactive" because the Slater campus caters to medically at-risk students.

The district keeps a program at Slater serving students with special needs, particularly autism. The closure affects about 40 staffers and 40 students, whose parents were notified by a letter from the superintendent.

Lilga added that maintenance staff will sanitize the campus, and "hopefully it will help disrupt the spread."

Lilga also confirmed that "We have likely (H1N1) cases at most of our school sites," and said school nurses are tracking the cases carefully and following directions from the county. On Tuesday, half of one kindergarten class at Bubb Elementary was out sick, and the district was planning to "do a special wipe-down in that classroom," she said.

In all cases, "The nurses are going to be contacting the public health department" for guidance on how to handle the cases, she said.

The closure kicks off flu season in earnest in Santa Clara County, where health officials say the federal government has not yet delivered enough vaccines. The county announced Oct. 28 that it had initially been allotted 211,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine in the coming weeks, but that the number has since been reduced to 8,800.

"There's been a lower production of the vaccine nationwide, so there are fewer doses altogether available for distribution nationwide," said county spokeswoman Gwen Mitchell.

Mitchell said county health officials are going to continue to raise the issue with the state and to contact the manufacturers of the vaccine to ask for a reasonably adequate supply.

The shortage has led to frustration among local health providers and their patients, including at El Camino Hospital and Palo Alto Medical Group's Camino Medical Center.

PAMF said it has had difficulty obtaining even the seasonal flu vaccine due to delays in production. Seasonal flu vaccine production was put on hold, a spokeswoman said, when efforts were redirected toward producing H1N1 vaccine.

Meanwhile, El Camino Hospital officials announced last Friday that the hospital would be restricting children and youths under the age of 16 from visiting patients there in order to reduce the spread of influenza.

Under the new rules, people under 16 are allowed to visit hospitalized patients only by special request and with physician approval. Exemptions from the new policy will be made on a case-by-case basis.

"Children are at greater risk for complications of influenza and are more likely to represent a health risk to patients," explained Dr. Carol Kemper, medical director of infection control, in a press release.

Despite the shortage in H1N1 vaccines, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department has assembled four public H1N1 flu vaccination clinics this Saturday for those most at risk to the virus. The clinics will only serve individuals who have the highest risk for complications: pregnant women, children and young adults between six months and 24 years old, adults who have medical conditions that put them at greater risk as well as health care providers and adults who handle or provide care for infants less than six months.

County officials estimate that about 800,000 of the county's 1.8 million residents meet the federal criteria of those at risk of illness or serious complication from the H1N1 virus.

For more information, visit the county health department's Web page on H1N1 flu.

INFORMATION:
The county's four H1N1 vaccine clinics are all scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the following locations:

Valley Health Center Sunnyvale
660 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Sunnyvale

Santa Clara County Fairground, Expo Hall
334 Tully Road, San Jose

Valley Health Center Moorpark
2400 Moorpark Ave., San Jose

Valley Health Center Gilroy
7475 Camino Arroyo, Gilroy

Bay City News contributed to this report.